Faded Darkness
by tinylexie
Summary: The immediate aftermath after Voldemort's first fall. How do the various Death Eaters cope with the sudden and unexpected disappearance of their lord and master?
1. Confusion

Bellatrix was woken suddenly by an intense pain in her arm.

The pain was in the exact spot where her Dark Mark was located.

Bellatrix's eyes flew open. It was not the usual type of pain, a slight burning sensation, which came from being Summoned by her lord and master. No, this pain truly hurt. She felt as if something had been ripped right out of her chest, even though the pain was in her arm and not her chest.

In a frenzied state of panic, Bellatrix rolled up the left sleeve of her nightdress. She looked down at her Mark.

It was still there, but she could barely see it.

Bellatrix could not make any sense out of it. Since the moment that she had first received the Mark, it had always been a dark, sharp black. But now it was almost invisible.

Had something happened to the Dark Lord? But no, that couldn't be possible. The Dark Lord was the most powerful wizard alive. He was more than a man. He was a god. There was no way that anything horrible could have possibly happened to him.

Bellatrix slid off her bed and dashed out her bedroom, not caring at all that her movements completely lacked the dignity and grace that was expected out of a proper Pureblood lady.

In the hallway, she nearly ran into her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, who had just come running out of his bedroom. His eyes were just as wide and frantic as hers.

Rodolphus flung his left forearm right under Bellatrix's nose. His Mark was also greatly faded.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Let me see your arm," Rodolphus whispered.

Bellatrix showed her husband her left foreman.

"What is going on?" Rodolphus asked, his voice reflecting the same panic that Bellatrix was feeling.

"How am I supposed to know?" Bellatrix snapped.

"Do you think this has happened to everyone else?" Rodolphus asked next, not at all fazed by his wife's sharp tone of voice.

"What happens to one Mark happens to all the Marks," Bellatrix spoke. "Something has happened to the Dark Lord."

Bellatrix then touched her Dark Mark. Nothing happened. She didn't feel the sensation of her lord and master responding to her call like she usually would.

Bellatrix touched her Dark Mark again, this time more frantically. Still, nothing happened.

Rodolphus was also touching his Dark Mark, but like his wife, he also was not receiving any results.

"What are we going to do?" Rodolphus asked.

"We are going to find the Dark Lord," Bellatrix answered, struggling to keep her voice calm.

The Mark was still there. It was greatly faded, but it was still there. That meant that the Dark Lord had to be out there somewhere.

That meant that the Dark Lord had to be all right. Because there was no way that the Dark Lord could not be all right.

Bellatrix could not imagine the Dark Lord not being all right. It just wasn't possible.

It couldn't be possible.

* * *

Barty Crouch Jr. was woken suddenly by an intense pain in his arm.

The pain was in the exact spot where his Dark Mark was located.

He released a cry of pain before he could help himself.

Barty then shakily rolled up the left sleeve of his pajamas.

His Mark was still there, but it was barely visible.

Barty touched his Mark. There was no response.

He touched his Mark again. There was still no response.

"Master," Barty breathed in horror. "Why aren't you answering me?"

Even though Barty had not really been expecting his master to come at this calling, the young man was still tortured when he didn't appear.

Barty felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. Something was definitely wrong. Something horrible had happened to his master, no, his father.

There was suddenly a gentle knock on his bedroom door.

"Barty," came his mother's concerned voice from the opposite side.

"I'm fine, Mother," Barty called back. "I just had a bad dream."

 _More like a nightmare_ , he thought. _An unimaginable, unbearable nightmare._

"Is there anything I can get you?" his mother asked gently.

 _My father,_ Barty thought. _You could get me my father._

Oh, his sweet, naive mother. She knew nothing about what her perfect son had been up to under the tutelage of the Dark Lord.

"No, I don't need anything," Barty called back. "Go back to bed."

"All right, sweetie," his mother responded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Barty returned.

Barty then heard the sounds of his mother's footsteps walking away from his door.

Barty looked back down at his left forearm. How could his Mark have faded so suddenly and so quickly? It made no sense.

"Where are you, Master?" Barty moaned. "Where are you?"

* * *

Lucius was lying beside his wife in their bed, but neither of them were sleeping.

It was not often that Lucius was home at night. And on the few occasions when he was actually home, it was not unusual for him to suddenly be Summoned by the Dark Lord.

It was hard, therefore, for either of the two Malfoys to sleep. They both knew that Lucius could be called away at a moment's notice, which would then leave Narcissa worrying and wondering if her husband would come back to her alive and healthy.

Lucius also found it hard to sleep because of how the Dark Lord had been acting recently. If it had been anyone but the Dark Lord, Lucius would have said that he was afraid of something. But that was impossible. The Dark Lord was above weak emotions such as fear.

At the same time, though, there was no denying that the Dark Lord had lately been more quick-tempered and less forgiving than was usual, even for him.

And Lucius knew that anger and fear were often tied together.

Lucius suddenly felt an intense pain in his arm.

The pain was in the exact spot where his Dark Mark was located.

Lucius hissed slightly, more out of shock than out of actual pain, as he was no stranger to both giving and receiving pain.

Lucius was still loud enough, however, for his wife to hear him.

"What's wrong, Lucius?" Narcissa asked in concern, grabbing for his hand.

It was his left hand, as that was the hand closest to her.

It was also the hand that went with the arm that bore the Dark Mark.

"My arm," Lucius gasped.

Narcissa released her grip on her husband's hand.

Lucius lifted up his arm as he rolled up his sleeve.

His Dark Mark was still there, but it was barely noticeable.

Narcissa's eyes went wide. She had seen that Mark on her husband's arm many times, and she knew that it was a dark, sharp black and clearly visible.

"Lucius," Narcissa breathed, not knowing what else to say.

"Something has happened to the Dark Lord," Lucius said calmly, even though he was inwardly trembling.

He touched his Mark hesitantly, not really expecting anything to happen. And indeed, nothing happened.

Lucius allowed his arm to fall down on the bed.

"How can that be possible?" Narcissa asked.

She, along with most people (both Death Eaters and those on the other side) saw the Dark Lord as being beyond human, as being invincible.

"I don't know," Lucius responded, "but I do know that the Dark Lord has been worried about something recently."

Narcissa nodded her head. Lucius had talked to her before about this.

Lucius slid off the bed and reached for the robes that he had laid out to wear in the morning.

"You better get dressed," he told his wife. "I expect the others will start showing up soon, looking for answers."

Narcissa nodded her head.

* * *

All over Britain, the rest of the Death Eaters were waking up suddenly, all of them feeling an intense pain in their arms where their Dark Marks were located.

They were all shocked and horrified when they saw how severely and how quickly their Marks had faded.

Had the impossible happened? Had something happened to the Dark Lord?

And if something had, what did that mean for them?


	2. Panic

As Lucius and Narcissa began to make their way down the hallway, they heard the sounds of many alarms going off. There were numerous people waiting for the wards to be lowered so that they could gain entry through the Floo Network.

"Just as I predicted," Lucius grumbled. "Why is it me that they always come to?"

"Because they know that you are a natural-born leader," Narcissa smiled with a fond expression on her face.

"Sometimes I wish they would find themselves another natural-born leader to go running to," Lucius muttered.

Narcissa placed a soothing hand on her husband's shoulder and rubbed it as much as she could while they were walking.

More alarms went off.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Lucius yelled impatiently, even though he knew that none of his fellow Death Eaters could hear him.

The two Malfoys passed by the close door that led to their son Draco's bedroom.

Narcissa paused in front of the door. Lucius stopped as well.

"I'm surprised all this noise hasn't woken Draco yet," Narcissa remarked, a worried expression on her face.

"Go check on him," Lucius said gently, knowing that was what his wife wanted to do. "I'll go greet our guests. Take your time with Draco."

"What is going on?" Abraxas drawled. "What's with all this noise? Why are so many people trying to get into the manor at the same time at this hour?"

"Something has happened to the Dark Lord, Father," Lucius spoke calmly.

"What do you mean something has happened to the Dark Lord?" Abraxas exclaimed.

Lucius rolled up his left sleeve and showed his father his forearm.

"This doesn't make any sense," Abraxas remarked after a few seconds of stunned silence, his face not betraying any emotion (even though his eyes did widen ever so slightly).

"Tell me something I don't know already," Lucius replied.

Abraxas glared at his son, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm going to check on Draco," Narcissa spoke, reaching for the doorknob.

"There's more important things to be worried about than your son," Abraxas sneered.

"There is nothing more important to me than my family," Narcissa returned sharply as she opened the door.

Abraxas opened his mouth to say something.

"I thought you said there were more important things to be worried about," Lucius said mockingly.

Abraxas's mouth snapped shut as he once again glared at his son.

More alarms went off.

"I'm coming!" Lucius bellowed.

Lucius then began to walk again. Abraxas was quick to follow him.

* * *

Narcissa, meanwhile, entered Draco's bedroom.

Draco was awake, but he was sitting quietly in his crib.

"Well, this is not like you," Narcissa remarked with clear affection in her voice. "You usually respond to any noise you hear by making a louder noise of your own. You know that something serious has happened, don't you?"

Draco looked at his mother with a serious expression on his young face, which wasn't like him at all.

"Sometimes you really do remind me of your father," Narcissa said as she lifted her son out of his crib.

* * *

Lucius and Abraxas made their way into the main drawing room.

Lucius then walked over to the fireplace. He waved his wand, and it was confirmed that it was indeed his fellow Death Eaters that wanted entry.

Lucius used his wand to lower the wards.

"It's open!" he then cried out.

Green flames rose up in the fireplace, and Death Eater after Death Eater began to enter the drawing room.

"Dobby! Brenan!" Lucius yelled.

There were two cracks, followed by the appearance of two house-elves, one of which was clearly older than the other.

"Yes, Master," both house-elves spoke, Dobby in a shaky voice, Brenan with a slight sneer in his voice.

"Bring all our guests something to eat and drink," Lucius ordered.

"Yes, Master," both house-elves spoke before disappearing with two cracks.

Lucius then used his wand to conjure up several chairs.

"Sit down, sit down," he told the gathered Death Eaters. "Refreshments are on the way."

"How can you be so calm, Lucius?" Bellatrix shrieked. "Something has happened to the Dark Lord."

"Where is he, Lucius?" Avery cried, grabbing the blond-haired wizard's robes. "You have to know where he's at."

"Get your hands off me, your idiot," Lucius snapped. "I don't know any more than you do. Now go sit somewhere."

Avery released his grip on Lucius's robes.

"Don't you care at all, Lucius?" Bellatrix hissed. "Don't you care at all that something has happened to the Dark Lord?"

"Yes, Bellatrix, I do care," Lucius said in an annoyed voice, "but panicking about it isn't going to help us."

"I'm not panicking like some frightened little Muggle," Bellatrix snapped. "Don't you dare insult me like that."

"Oh, don't make much ado about nothing," Lucius sighed wearily. "Just sit down already."

There were two cracks, followed by the appearances of Dobby and Brenan. The two house-elves than began to serve all the Death Eaters.

"Lucius," Barty spoke suddenly, his voice urgent. "Lucius."

Lucius held up a hand to stop Barty's approach.

"I don't know what has happened or where the Dark Lord is," Lucius said. "I know no more than you do. Have something to drink."

Barty snatched a glass of wine from the tray in Dobby's shaky hands and drank it all in one gulp.

"More," Barty gasped.

Dobby offered Barty another glass, which the young man was quick to take.

"You better sit down," Lucius told Barty.

"I don't have time for that," Barty growled. "We have to find the Dark Lord."

"Of course we do," Lucius replied, "but we need to be smart about how we do it. If we start poking our noses everywhere, people will start to get suspicious."

"Are you saying that we should do nothing, Lucius?" Bellatrix snarled, her hand tightly holding a glass of wine. "Are you saying that we should just stand around and wait for news?"

There was suddenly silence in the room as all the Death Eaters stopped their various conversations to look at Lucius and Bellatrix.

Lucius looked around the room, and he noticed that Severus was missing. Where could he be? Had something happened to him along with the Dark Lord?

And Wormtail was missing as well. Lucius seriously doubted, however, that any of the Death Eaters would notice his absence.

Still, just how many Death Eaters had disappeared along with the Dark Lord?

 _Great,_ Lucius thought sarcastically. _Now I'm starting to panic along with everyone else._

Lucius turned to look back at Bellatrix. He would maintain his composure.

"The last thing we want to do is to jump to any quick conclusions," Lucius spoke, his voice smooth and calm. "All our Marks are still on our arms. They're just faded, that's all."

"That's all," Bellatrix shrieked. "Our Marks have never before been faded like this."

Bellatrix thrust her left forearm under Lucius's nose.

"This is serious, Lucius," Bellatrix cried.

"Well, like I was telling Barty," Lucius drawled, "if we start poking our noses everywhere, people will start to get suspicious. We should all return to our homes for now and act as we normally would. If something has happened to the Dark Lord, there will soon be news of it."

"You're lucky the Dark Lord isn't here right now, Lucius," Barty spoke angrily. "He would be so disappointed in you. He favors you so much, and you don't even care that something might have happened to him."

"I do care, Barty," Lucius snapped. "Just because I'm not running around like a chicken whose head has been cut off does not mean that I don't care. I'm just saying that we should wait until we receive more information before we take any action."

"I will search for the Dark Lord," Abraxas spoke suddenly. "I know the places where he usually can be found."

"At least one of you Malfoys have your priorities straight," Barty remarked.

"Watch your tongue, boy," Abraxas warned. "You forget where you are at. You are at Malfoy Manor. You are not at your father's house or at the Ministry."

Barty glared angrily at the older man, but he didn't say anything.

"You may all wait here until I return," Abraxas then spoke to the rest of the Death Eaters.

With that, Abraxas grabbed some Floo powder from the jar on top of the fireplace. He threw the powder into the fireplace and disappeared in a flash of green flame.

"Where is he going?" Narcissa asked, walking into the room.

"He is searching for the Dark Lord," Lucius answered.

Lucius noticed that his wife's arms were empty.

"How is Draco?" Lucius inquired.

"He's sleeping now," Narcissa replied. "I used _Muffliato_ around his room before I came down here."

Lucius nodded his head.

Rodolphus, meanwhile, was making a lot of "improper" sounds as he drank from his glass of wine.

Narcissa glanced over at her brother-in-law with a disgusted expression on her face.

"When will you learn how to drink like a man instead of like an animal?" Narcissa asked.

"You're worried about being _proper_ at a time like this, Cissy?" Bellatrix shrieked.

"Are we not Purebloods?" Narcissa retorted. "Are we not supposed to be better than everyone else in every way?"

Bellatrix still didn't look happy, but she didn't say anything further.

Lucius, meanwhile, looked around the room once again. He still saw no sign of Severus. Where was he? This wasn't like him at all.

And where was Wormtail hiding? True, it wasn't uncommon for Wormtail to be hiding in some dark corner, but the fact that both he and Severus were missing had to mean something.

* * *

Green flames suddenly rose up in the fireplace. A moment later, Abraxas stepped into the drawing room.

"Well?" Bellatrix demanded, leaping to her feet. "Did you find him? Did you find the Dark Lord?"

Barty was not far behind Bellatrix, his face also reflecting his desire for information.

Abraxas ignored both Bellatrix and Barty. Instead, his eyes searched for Lucius.

Abraxas looked at his son for a long moment before finally saying, "The Dark Lord has fallen."

"What?" Bellatrix exclaimed.

"What do you mean he has fallen?" Barty pressed.

"The Dark Lord was trying to kill the Potters," Abraxas explained, still not looking at the two Death Eaters. "He succeed in doing that, but when he tried to kill their baby boy, the Killing Curse rebounded on him."

Abraxas paused for a moment before saying, "And the Potter boy still lives."

 _The Potters are dead,_ Lucius thought. _That explains why Severus isn't here. I am going to have to talk to him, though, about the importance of keeping up appearances._

None of this information, however, explained why Wormtail was missing. Unless he had somehow been involved in the Potters' deaths. The Potters had been hidden from the Dark Lord by a Fidelius Charm. It was clear, though, that charm had been broken considering that the Dark Lord had been able to find them. Had Wormtail been the Potters' Secret Keeper? Had Wormtail actually betrayed the people that he had once called friends?

"Is this your idea of a sick joke, old man?" Bellatrix snarled at Abraxas. "Because there is no way that the Dark Lord can possibly be gone while a baby boy that is the child of a Mudblood and a Blood-Traitor is still alive and well."

"I would never make any jokes when it comes to the Dark Lord," Abraxas responded, finally looking at Bellatrix. "He is gone. The Potters are dead. Their son lives."

"But there was nothing said about the Dark Lord being dead, was there?" Barty pressed, the desperation in his voice clear.

Barty looked down at his faded Dark Mark. "I mean, if he was dead, wouldn't our Marks be completely gone instead of just faded?"

At these words, many of the Death Eaters looked hopefully at Abraxas.

"Some are saying that he is dead," Abraxas spoke, "but I do not believe that to be the case. I have no doubt, however, that whatever happened tonight clearly weakened the Dark Lord. He will need time to regain his power and his strength."

"Then we will find him and help him to do so," Bellatrix declared.

"Good luck with that," Abraxas sneered. "The Dark Lord is smart. I have no doubt that he has already retreated to somewhere he cannot be found."

" _I_ will find him," Bellatrix replied. "I am loyal to him. I will not abandon him."

"Nor will I," Barty spoke.

Both Rodolphus and Rabastan jumped to their feet and voiced their agreement with both Bellatrix and Barty.

"We are going to start searching for him now," Bellatrix spoke.

She then looked around the room. "Anyone who is truly loyal to the Dark Lord will come with us."

The look in Barty's eyes showed his agreement with Bellatrix's words.

The Death Eaters looked at each other nervously. None of them, however, dared to meet Bellatrix's or Barty's eyes.

"Fine," Bellatrix cried. "You all be nothing but cowards then. However, when we help the Dark Lord to return to power, we will be greatly rewarded while the rest of you will be severely punished for your treachery."

Bellatrix then turned to look at her brother-in-law.

"What about you, Lucius?" she demanded. "Are you nothing more than a coward as well?"

"I have not changed my mind," Lucius replied. "I will wait for more information before I take any action."

"You are even more pathetic than I thought," Bellatrix responded.

"And you are even more foolish than I thought," Lucius retorted. "If we act rashly now, we will likely either end up dead or in Azkaban. And what good are we to the Dark Lord if we are dead or imprisoned?"

"I'm not stupid enough to get caught," Bellatrix returned. "And even if I was to get caught, at least I would have shown my loyalty. I will not deny the Dark Lord."

"Your funeral," Lucius sneered. "Just don't expect me to attend it."

"Like I would want you to be there anyways," Bellatrix hissed.

She then nodded her head at Barty and the two Lestranges and beckoned for them to follow her.

They each grabbed some Floo powder before walking into the fireplace.

* * *

As soon as the four were gone, Lucius turned to look at the remaining Death Eaters in the room.

"Like I said earlier," Lucius spoke, "we should all return to our homes and act as we normally would. The Dark Lord is gone for now, which means that we are at a disadvantage until he returns."

"What about the Aurors?" Nott asked, his voice full of panic. "Most of us are under suspicion for being Death Eaters, and it was only the Dark Lord's presence that protected us. But with the Dark Lord now gone, there is nothing to stop the Aurors from coming after us."

"If that happens, claim that you were under the influence of the Imperius Curse," Lucius responded. "The Aurors don't have enough time or resources to try to sort out who is lying and who is telling the truth."

Lucius looked around the entire room. "And whatever you all do," he continued, "don't publically say anything negative about Mudbloods or the Potter boy. If you are asked, you are to act as if Potter is your great savior and hero and that is it is such a huge relief that the Dark Lord is finally gone."

Most of the Death Eaters nodded their heads at Lucius, even though they still looked worried and uncertain.

"Finish your refreshments," Lucius ordered, "and then return to your homes."

The Death Eaters nodded their heads once more.

Lucius met his wife's eyes. It was clear that she was just as ready as him for everyone to be gone.

But they were both proper Purebloods, and neither would ever consider being anything less than a proper host and hostess.

Fortunately for them, however, the Death Eaters were finishing their drinks quickly, more quickly than was proper.

For once, though, Narcissa found herself not caring. She just wanted to be alone with her husband. She didn't want to be around all this panic and confusion anymore.

Narcissa found herself worrying about her family's futures, and a glance at her husband showed that he was just as worried as she was.

Lucius was careful, though, to not let anyone else see his worry.

Now more than ever, they had to appear strong and confident.


	3. Worry

**Author's Note** **: I have done some editing to another story that I have written that takes place during this time period, "Of Heroes, Politics, Society, and Sob Sad Stories." I have taken some of the dialogue between Lucius and Narcissa in that story and placed it in this story instead as I thought that it would fit better here.**

* * *

"Now what?" Narcissa asked after the last Death Eater, Nott, had finally left. "The Aurors will probably be coming for you soon, Lucius."

Narcissa had to struggle to keep the panic out of her voice at the thought of her husband being violently taken away from her and Draco.

"Yes, Lucius, what do you plan on doing when they come here?" Abraxas pressed. "Are you going to dishonour this family by getting yourself thrown into Azkaban?"

"Yes, Father, that's exactly what I'm planning on doing," Lucius said sarcastically. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life in a dark, tiny cage, completely surrounded by dementors, just to make you look bad."

Abraxas glared angrily at his son and opened his mouth to say something.

"No, Father," Lucius said before Abraxas could get anything out, "I'm going to claim to have been under the influence of the Imperius Curse, just like I told the others to do. The Mudbloods will definitely gain control of our world if all us Purebloods are in Azkaban. I suppose you plan on denying the Dark Lord as well. Well, I can't say that I'm surprised, even though I thought that you and the Dark Lord were supposed to be best buddies."

"You know just as well as I do, Lucius, that there is no such thing as friendship," Abraxas responded. "There are only alliances, and the Dark Lord is currently not worthy of our allegiance."

"Are you going to tell him that when he does return?" Lucius sneered.

"I do not fear the Dark Lord," Abraxas snapped.

He then rolled up his left sleeve in order to show his bare forearm. "Nor do I owe him anything. I have never belonged to him, and he knows that."

"Yet you never had any problem with giving me to him," Lucius spoke harshly.

"At the time, it was an honour to serve the Dark Lord," Abraxas returned. "You should be grateful that I cared enough about you that I wanted you to be a part of something that was bigger than yourself."

"That had nothing to do with you caring about me," Lucius snarled. "You were just too much of a coward to join the fight yourself."

Both Malfoy men pulled out their wands at the same time.

Narcissa pulled out her wand as well, ready to cast a Shield Charm between her husband and her father-in-law if it became necessary. She was glad that she had listened to Lucius when he had told her that she should always be armed and ready for battle, even in her own house.

She had once thought that Lucius was just being paranoid. Now she knew better. Now she wasn't so naïve.

"You are no longer essential now that Draco is here," Abraxas hissed at his son.

"I'm not a little boy anymore," Lucius growled. "Your threats are now meaningless to me. You are no longer my master. You are no longer the one with all the power. And one day, if you are not more careful, you might find out just how powerless you have become."

Abraxas and Lucius continued to glare at each other dangerously, the tips of their wands glowing with a curse just ready to be cast.

"Enough of this," Narcissa spoke firmly, knowing from personal experience just how deadly a duel between the two Malfoy men could be. "How would it look to the Aurors if they found out that you two were duelling on the same night that the Dark Lord fell?"

Abraxas glared at his daughter-in-law for daring to speak to him like that, but he did lower his wand.

Lucius also lowered his wand.

Narcissa allowed herself a slight sigh of relief.

"I'm going back to bed," Abraxas grumbled.

Lucius and Narcissa watched as Abraxas left for his section of the manor.

Narcissa then turned to her husband, a worried expression on her face.

"Do you truly think that claiming Imperius is going to be enough, Lucius?" she asked. "There are so many who would love nothing more than to see you rot in Azkaban for the rest of your life, and I can't bear the thought of that happening."

"There are too many people at the Ministry that don't want me revealing their dirty little secrets," Lucius told his wife in a reassuring voice. "They won't dare allow anything to happen to me. Trust me, Narcissa, they will want to keep the Aurors as far away from me as possible."

"What about Barty's father?" Narcissa demanded. "He's not above doing some blackmailing of his own."

"Perhaps," Lucius drawled soothingly, "but I already have plans in mind to deal with him if it becomes necessary. There's no need to worry, Narcissa. We are safe. Everything will be fine. True, our plans for the future have changed significantly with the Dark Lord's fall, but this is just a set-back, not a complete defeat. We will emerge triumph when it is all over."

Lucius took his wife's hand. "Come," he said gently, "let's go back to bed. I will go to the Ministry tomorrow, after the _Daily Prophet_ arrives. That way, no one will be suspicious about why I'm inquiring about the Dark Lord's fall when I should not yet know about it."

"Are you saying that you are going to try to find him after all?" Narcissa cried. "Isn't it enough that Bella is already foolishly doing that? Am I going to have to worry about losing both you and my sister?"

"I need to know if the Dark Lord really is as weakened as everyone is saying," Lucius replied. "If he isn't, he will be angry at me for not coming to his aid. But if he is indeed extremely weakened, then I can always tell him when he returns that I thought he was dead. He will still be angry, of course, but I don't think it will be quite as bad as it would be if I didn't go look for him when he was still strong. Don't worry, Narcissa. I have no intention of doing anything foolish. I may sometimes be reckless, but I am not Bellatrix. I know when to lie low and to pretend that I am accepting defeat. All will be well."

Narcissa attempted to smile at her husband, but it was a weak smile.

"I should go check on Draco before we return to bed," she muttered.

"I'll go with you," Lucius offered. "Seeing him makes me feel better as well. Seeing him reminds me that there are still good things in this world."

This time, Narcissa's smile was brighter and more genuine.


	4. Connections

Narcissa held a strawberry in front of her open mouth, but she couldn't bring herself to eat it. Despite all of her husband's reassurances, she was still worried about the Aurors seizing him while he was at the Ministry and throwing him into Azkaban without a trial and without her ever again being allowed to see him.

Draco, who was sitting in his high chair, seemed to sense his mother's nervousness as he also wasn't eating his breakfast.

"Mama," he said, his voice sounding concerned (or as concerned as a one-year-old could sound). "Mama."

"Mama's okay, Draco," Narcissa replied, forcing herself to smile. "Mama's just worried about your daddy."

"Dada," Draco spoke happily.

"Yes, Dada," Narcissa smiled.

Draco giggled.

Narcissa had to look away. How she wish she could once again have her son's innocence.

Did she ever have Draco's innocence?

Narcissa placed the strawberry in her mouth and forced herself to chew.

Lucius had to be all right. He just had to be. Before he had left, he had promised Narcissa that he would return to the manor for lunch.

Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

The only topic of conversation in the Ministry was the Dark Lord and Harry Potter.

"I can't believe he's really gone," one man breathed. "I truly thought that we were going to have to live in fear for the rest of our lives."

"I don't care what they say," another man snapped. "I don't believe that You-Know-Who is truly gone. Someone as evil as him doesn't just die so easily, especially at the hands of a baby."

"Nevertheless," the first man responded, "Harry Potter is alive while You-Know-Who is nowhere to be found."

"Because he's not an idiot," the second man returned. "You-Know-Who knows that he's vulnerable right now. That's why he's hiding."

 _What a pity he's a Mudblood,_ Lucius thought as he hid under the Disillusionment Charm in a shadowy spot not far from where the two men were talking. _He actually has some brains. Only a fool would truly believe that a baby could kill someone as great and as powerful as the Dark Lord._

The two men talked some more before finally parting ways.

As soon as he was sure that he was alone, Lucius undid the Disillusionment Charm around himself.

He had been eavesdropping on several people for several hours, but he had yet to hear anything useful. Some people believed that the Dark Lord was dead, while others weren't as sure.

But no one had a clue about where the Dark Lord could possibly be now.

Lucius began to make his way down the hallway. So far, there was no indication that the Dark Lord was strong enough to mount an attack anytime soon, which meant that Lucius needed to start taking steps to protect himself and his family from those that would dare to seek vengeance against them.

* * *

There were still several hours to go before it would be lunchtime, which meant that there were still several hours to go before Narcissa would know whether or not her husband was still all right.

Narcissa attempted to distract herself by reading "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" to her son.

Draco giggled as his mother read to him about how the wizard's pot captured and swallowed all the Muggles that approached his cottage.

Every time Narcissa paused for a significant amount of time, Draco turned the page so that his mother could continue reading.

"You're such a smart boy, Draco," Narcissa beamed.

Draco looked up at his mother with what could only be considered a smug expression on his face.

Narcissa continued to read, telling her son about how the Muggles finally promised the wizard that they would leave him alone in peace to practice his magic. As a result, the wizard released the Muggles (now slightly mangled) that had been imprisoned in his pot.

As she looked up from the book, Narcissa tried not to think about what could possibly happen to her husband if all those Muggle-loving fools in their world decided to go after him.

"Lucius is going to be all right," Narcissa kept on telling herself. "He knows how to take care of himself."

Narcissa, however, could not stop herself from glancing constantly at the clock above the fireplace. How much longer would it be before Lucius finally came back home?

* * *

Lucius approached several people at the Ministry, those that he knew were not Aurors or Order of the Phoenix members, and offered his opinions on the Dark Lord's fate. Lucius was careful the entire time to refer to the Dark Lord as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"You truly believe that You-Know-Who is gone, Lucius?" one woman asked in disbelief. "I mean, from what I've heard about him, he's not exactly human."

"Well, nothing in life is ever certain," Lucius drawled. "But after all these years of war, we all are in need of some good news. I want to be able to go outside without fear that I might suddenly be attacked. I want Narcissa and Draco to be able to go outside without me having to constantly worry that something horrible might happen to them. And Narcissa and I really could use this one less worry on our plates."

"What do you mean by that, Lucius?" another woman asked in concern.

"I'm a Pureblood," Lucius explained, "a Pureblood that never expressed Muggle sympathies as openly as other Purebloods such as the Weasleys and the Longbottoms. And speaking of the Weasleys, well, it's no secret that they and my family have long been at odd with each other. Arthur Weasley in particular has more than once tried to spread nasty, terrible rumors about me. He has always been envious of me because of my family's wealth. I fear that I might be targeted in the days to come because I am seen as privileged and because I decided to remain neutral in this war. I never liked the things that You-Know-Who were doing, but I didn't express those thoughts as boldly as perhaps I should have. But I didn't want to get involved for fear that the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters might have decided to go after Narcissa or Draco in order to get even with me."

"Not everyone thinks as Arthur Weasley does," the woman sneered. "Even if he refuses to acknowledge it, _I_ know of the many good things that you have done for the Ministry and for the entire Wizarding World as a whole. All your donations to St. Mungo's, for instance, helped to save many lives, including the lives of many Muggles and Muggle-borns that were injured in Death Eater attacks."

Lucius smiled at the woman and placed his hand on her arm as if in appreciation for her words.

"It is such a relief to know that I have friends here," Lucius spoke.

"Of course," a man spoke. "When my daughter was seriously ill, it was you, Lucius, who saved her life. And for that, I will be forever grateful to you."

"I consider you a good friend," Lucius responded. "I didn't want you to have to live with the pain of losing a child for the rest of your life."

Lucius then casually looked at his watch.

"Please excuse me," he said politely, "but I must be going. I have a few errands to do before I return home to eat lunch with my wife and son."

"How is little Draco doing?" a third woman asked.

"He's doing absolutely wonderful," Lucius smiled. "He still prefers to crawl, but he can walk very fast."

"He'll be on a broomstick before you and Narcissa know it," another man laughed.

"He already is," Lucius laughed back. "I got him a broomstick for his first birthday. It doesn't go that high up, of course, but Draco loves it."

Everyone beamed at the affection and pride in Lucius's voice as he spoke about his son.

Lucius then said goodbye to everyone before parting from their company.

It was now time for Lucius to talk with a few people that held just enough power and influence in the Ministry to be at the very least a slight threat to him. He needed to remind them of the fact that he knew about much of their "dirty laundry," some of which would be enough to land them in Azkaban if it ever got out to the public.

As Lucius was walking down the hallway, however, he suddenly caught sight of Barty Crouch Jr.

Lucius quickly went to the nearest shadow, casting the Disillusionment Charm on himself as he did so, before the younger man could spot him.

Lucius noted the direction that Barty was going.

It appeared as if the young man was on his way to his father's office.

Lucius quickly decided that it could prove very beneficial to him if he knew what Barty Crouch Sr. knew, especially considering that the man was one of the biggest threats to Lucius's continual freedom.

Plus, it also wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on Barty Jr. The young man was nearly as unstable as Bellatrix, and it wouldn't take much for that to prove to be dangerous to Lucius, especially considering how upset Barty had been when Lucius had not joined him, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan in their guest to find the Dark Lord.

Lucius, still under the cover of the Disillusionment Charm, began to stealthily follow Barty.

* * *

 **Author's Note** **: "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" is one of the tales that is included in** _ **The Tales of Beedle the Bard**_ **. There are two versions of this story, with the second version being more anti-Muggle and resulting from the Muggle persecution of wizard and witches. In this chapter, Narcissa reads to Draco the second version. More details on both versions can be found on Harry Potter Wiki.**


	5. Betrayal

Barty knocked on the door to his father's office.

"Come in," came Crouch Sr.'s voice.

Barty opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello, Son," Crouch spoke formally, as if he was speaking to either a stranger or a casual acquaintance instead of his own flesh and blood.

"Hello, Father," Barty returned, just as formally.

"What can I do for you today?" Crouch asked. "I'm rather busy."

"With what?" Barty pressed. "Haven't you heard the news by now? You-Know-Who is no more. I would think that would make you happy."

"You-Know-Who may be gone for now," Crouch responded, "but many of his followers are still out there and walking free. I know for a fact that Lucius Malfoy is already working his charm throughout the Ministry."

"Malfoy is here?" Barty said in surprise. He had just arrived at the Ministry after spending the night before and most of the morning searching for the Dark Lord with any success, so that was probably why he hadn't seen the blond-haired wizard.

 _The bastard,_ Barty then thought. _Only caring about looking after his own skin. The Dark Lord gave him so many honours, and this is how Lucius chooses to repay him._

Crouch saw the look of anger on his son's face and mistook the reason for it.

"I understand how you're feeling," Crouch spoke. "If only I had some solid evidence on that bastard."

"I could give you the evidence that you need," Barty responded.

"What do you mean?" Crouch exclaimed. "And why haven't you said anything to me sooner about this?"

"Because I was afraid that the Death Eaters might go after Mother in retaliation," Barty returned, allowing a hint of panic to creep into his voice. "Besides, it isn't as if I've ever seen Malfoy actually kill anyone or anything like that."

That wasn't the truth, of course, but Barty couldn't risk his father finding out that he had only seen Lucius killing someone because he had been there and killing Muggles as well.

"Look, I don't have any solid evidence on Malfoy either," Barty said. "I've only got rumors."

"Yet, with enough rumors from enough people, even Malfoy won't be able to charm himself out of Azkaban," Crouch responded.

"Then, when the time is right, we will bring him down together," Barty replied. "I am hoping, though, that we will be able to eliminate all the threats. What of You Know-Who? Do you truly believe that he's gone?"

"I have been talking with Dumbledore," Crouch replied, "and he believes that You-Know-Who is out there somewhere, hiding until he is able to regain his strength."

"Dumbledore," Barty breathed, "arguably You-Know-Who's most dangerous enemy. He must have some idea then of where You-Know-Who could be. Is this not as good as a time as any to finish him off for good?"

"Unfortunately, Dumbledore doesn't know where You-Know-Who is," Crouch responded, "but we're both hoping that will soon change."

 _Liar,_ Barty thought. _Dumbledore has to know where the Dark Lord is. Dumbledore is always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong._

Barty forced a smile on his face. "If there's anything that I can do to help," he said, "let me know. I want You-Know-Who to be found as well. I want this nightmare to finally be over."

"I'll keep that in mind," Crouch replied. "Now, I really must be getting back to work."

"Of course," Barty forced himself to smile. "I'll see you later then."

* * *

Lucius stood as still and as silently as possible, hidden by both the shadows and the Disillusionment Charm, as Barty walked past him.

 _So, you think to betray me,_ Lucius thought. _Well, two can play at this game, little serpent._

For a moment, Lucius considered following Barty. Perhaps if Barty was as stupid and as nonobservant as idiots such as Avery, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were, Lucius might have followed him. But Lucius knew that Barty was anything but an idiot. No, Barty was intelligent and cunning, and he was about as good as Lucius was at stalking his victims.

Barty was strongly aware of his environment, even if he didn't always appear that way. Lucius considered himself very stealthy; but all it would take was a little slip-up on his part for Barty to realize that he was being followed, and that could end up ruining all of Lucius's plans. No, Lucius needed Barty to be as oblivious as possible.

No, following Barty at the moment would be a waste and a horrible use of Lucius's time. The fact that both father and son were now against him didn't necessarily put him in immediate danger, as Crouch didn't have any solid evidence against him and Barty would have a difficult time presenting any evidence against Lucius without condemning himself as well, but Lucius was not willing to take any risks. He had to take some action against Barty.

And Lucius also had to take some action against Crouch so that he would never have any hope of becoming the next Minister of Magic.

All this aside, Lucius had another motivation for not following Barty. He wanted to be back at home for lunch so that Narcissa wouldn't start worrying more than she already was.

Still under the Disillusionment Charm, Lucius began to walk down the hallway. He didn't want anyone knowing that he had been near Crouch's office.

* * *

Once he arrived at the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, it didn't take Lucius long to spot the department's Junior Minister, Cornelius Fudge.

The man was alone, so Lucius approached him, finally dropping the Disillusionment Charm as he did so.

"Fudge," Lucius spoke respectfully.

The man in question jumped slightly, but the look that he gave to Lucius wasn't one of total surprise. Fudge was used to Lucius approaching him in the shadows in order to give him "valuable information." And Lucius's reason for sneaking around to give this information was simple, he didn't want the Death Eaters finding out about him. Or at least that was the story that Lucius had always given to Fudge, a story which the man had quickly and easily accepted.

"You don't have to sneak around anymore to see me, Lucius," Fudge said. "We're safe now."

"We're safe from You-Know-Who," Lucius replied, "but we're not safe from his Death Eaters. They might be nearer to us than either of us realize. Surely you haven't forgotten that Auror that was murdered within these very walls."

"No, I haven't," Fudge replied, his face paling, "but You-Know-Who being gone has to mean something."

"It does," Lucius responded, his voice still respectful. "It means that the Death Eaters no longer have a leader, which means that they no longer have a source of stability. There's probably panic and chaos among their ranks right now, with all of them being worried about when the Aurors are going to start coming for them. I think it's safe to say that they will do whatever it takes to avoid being captured. Just because You-Know-Who is gone does not necessarily mean that the attacks and the murders are going to immediately stop."

"Yes, that's what Barty Crouch Sr. has been saying as well," Fudge remarked.

"Well, that's no surprise," Lucius said. "I don't think Crouch is in a hurry for this war to end."

"What do you mean by that, Lucius?"

"This war has been good for Crouch," Lucius explained. "His methods of dealing with the Death Eaters have made him very popular with most of the public. Millicent Bagnold isn't going to be Minister forever. Anyone who looks at her can see how much this war has exhausted her. Nevertheless, not just anyone will be able to take her place as the new Minister. The war is still fresh in everyone's mind, and it will be for some time. The public will want a strong leader, a strong leader such as Crouch."

"I know this already," Fudge sighed. "I know there is no way that I could ever compare with Crouch's success."

"But what if Crouch isn't nearly as successful as everyone believes him to be?" Lucius asked.

"What do you mean by that, Lucius?"

Lucius looked around, as if checking to make sure that they were truly alone.

"I shouldn't be saying anything," he said, "as I don't really have any real proof. All I have is some horrible rumors that I've heard recently, and it could be easily argued that those rumors came from people that have a grudge against Crouch."

"Please, Lucius," Fudge begged, unable to hide the excitement in his voice, "don't speak in such riddles. What rumors have you heard? All the rumors that you have told me in the past have turned out to be true."

Lucius hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's about Crouch's son.

"What about young Barty?" Fudge frowned slightly. "Everyone is always taking about what a good boy he is."

"That's not what I've heard," Lucius responded. "No, from what I've heard, young Barty is anything but a good boy."

Before Fudge could say anything, Lucius began to look around, as if he was nervous.

"I have to be going," Lucius said.

"No, Lucius, wait," Fudge cried, grabbing for the blond-haired wizard's arm. "Tell me more. You have to tell me more."

"That's all I know," Lucius replied, "and I shouldn't have said even that much. Crouch holds a lot of influence in the Ministry, and he's well on his way to becoming the next Minister of Magic. These rumors about his son, though, could ruin him. Crouch, though, is not the type of person to just accept defeat without putting up a fight. Besides, these rumors may be just that, rumors. Crouch has many admirers, but he also has people that despise him. Please, Fudge, just forget what I said."

Lucius pulled his arm out of Junior Minister's gasp and began to walk away.

Lucius didn't have to look at Fudge to know that the man's mouth was currently open wide enough to catch flies.

* * *

 **Author's Note** **: The murder of the Auror that Lucius mentioned in this chapter is a reference to another story that I have written, "Murder in the Ministry."**


	6. Tension

"Well?" Bellatrix demanded as soon as Barty had stepped into the drawing room of Lestrange Manor, where she, Rodolphus, and Rabastan had to been waiting for the young man's return. "Did Daddy Dearest tell you anything useful?"

"He claimed to have no knowledge of the Dark Lord's current whereabouts," Barty answered, scowling slightly at the mocking tone in Bellatrix's voice.

"I told you that going to him wouldn't be a good idea," Bellatrix sneered.

"Like you had any better ideas," Barty snapped.

When Barty had first joined the Death Eaters, he had been a bit afraid of Bellatrix (as most of the Death Eaters were). Barty, however, had quickly rose up in the Dark Lord's ranks, as it did not take him long to start receiving the Dark Lord's praises for his abilities and successes. This had caused Barty to develop a lot of confidence in himself, which had then resulted in him also having the confidence to stand up to Bellatrix. He respected her abilities, but he wasn't afraid of her.

Barty frowned to himself. He knew that Lucius also wasn't afraid of Bellatrix. But there was another Death Eater that he knew of that wasn't afraid of Bellatrix either.

Severus Snape.

Barty had been so caught up in his anger towards Lucius that he had not really paid attention to the fact that he had not seen Severus at Malfoy Manor along with the rest of the Death Eaters.

Why had Severus not been there? He had been another Death Eater that the Dark Lord had held in high degree. And this was how Severus had decided to repay him, by not even bothering to try to contact the other Death Eaters to see if they knew anything about the Dark Lord? Did the Dark Lord matter that little to Severus?

How dare Severus disregard the Dark Lord so easily, as if the Dark Lord had not meant anything.

Severus would pay for his lack of loyalty.

Barty frowned some more. He did not recall seeing Wormtail either, even though that didn't really surprise him. Wormtail was scared of his own shadow. To put it simply, he was pathetic. As far as Barty was concerned, Wormtail was no better than a Muggle, and he most definitely had not deserved having the honour of being a Death Eater.

Wormtail wasn't worth Barty's time or effort.

"What's on your mind that's so important that I'm no longer worthy of your attention?" Bellatrix hissed.

"I didn't see either Severus or Wormtail at Malfoy Manor with the rest of the Death Eaters," Barty spoke.

"Wormtail is the biggest coward of them all," Bellatrix snarled. "He's probably hiding in a hole somewhere, and I hope that the dirt on top of him buries him alive. And don't even speak of Snape to me. He was barely more worthy than Wormtail to join our ranks. Maybe he did us all a favor and threw himself off a tower or something like that. But if those two are still alive, we will deal with them later, along with Lucius and all the others that dared to turn their backs on the Dark Lord."

"I have already taken steps to deal with Lucius," Barty said.

"Oh, so that's why you didn't find out anything useful about the Dark Lord," Bellatrix spoke both angrily and mockingly. You were too busy trying to be Daddy's Little Helper and helping him to round up some evil little Death Eaters."

Her voice then turned fully angry. "Do you intend to betray me as well?"

"Not if you remain loyal to the Dark Lord," Barty responded.

"You dare to question my loyalty," Bellatrix shrieked. "I am his most loyal, most faithful-"

"Not as loyal or as faithful as me," Barty returned. "The Dark Lord favors me more than he will ever favor you. I mean more to the Dark Lord than you will ever mean to him. I am like a son to him, and I consider him to be my father."

Bellatrix laughed. It was not a pleasant sound.

"You think to challenge me, boy," she cried, her voice half-crazed. "You are nothing but a baby snake with no fangs. The Dark Lord has taught me things that you couldn't even begin to imagine, much less perform."

"None of this is helping the Dark Lord," Rabastan spoke suddenly, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Both Bellatrix and Barty looked at Rabastan in surprise. Even his brother looked at him in surprise.

Neither of the Lestrange brothers were known for speaking much, and Rabastan was even quieter than Rodolphus.

And for Rabastan to be the voice of reason was even more unbelievable.

"Yes, you're right," Bellatrix finally said.

Rodolphus looked at his wife in surprise. He couldn't recall her ever before admitting that someone else, with the exception of the Dark Lord of course, being right about something.

"So, what's our next course of action, Bellatrix, since my idea was so stupid?" Barty asked.

"Someone has to know where the Dark Lord is," Bellatrix responded. "He couldn't have just disappeared completely. Perhaps Dumbledore knows something useful."

"I hope that you're not suggesting that we go after Dumbledore," Barty spoke. "That would be truly foolish and suicidal."

"I am more than a match for Dumbledore," Bellatrix hissed, her eyes wide. "Just because you're too afraid to do what is necessary does not mean that I am."

"I am not afraid," Barty snarled. "I am just using my brains and being realistic."

"Now you sound like Lucius," Bellatrix sneered.

"Don't you dare compare me to that blond-haired, pale-skinned coward!" Barty bellowed angrily.

Rodolphus and Rabastan looked at each other.

"Shall we go find some Firewhiskey?" Rodolphus asked his brother in a very calm voice.

"Yes, I could use a drink right now," Rabastan replied.

The two Lestrange brothers got off the couch and walked out the room.

Neither Bellatrix nor Barty noticed their departures.

Bellatrix, meanwhile, laughed at the look of outrage on Barty's face.

"None of this matters anyways," Barty spoke, struggling to calm himself. "According to my father, Dumbledore doesn't anything either."

"And you actually believed that, you idiotic boy?" Bellatrix taunted. "Of course Dumbledore knows something. He's always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"I still think, though, that it would be unwise to go after him directly," Barty responded.

"Then we'll go after him indirectly, if that will make you feel better," Bellatrix replied. "His Phoenix lot. They have to know something."

Barty nodded his head in agreement.

Bellatrix began to look around.

"Where's Rodolphus and Rabastan?" she asked.

"They're not my husband and brother-in-law," Barty sneered.

"Rodolphus! Rabastan!" Bellatrix yelled. "Get here now!"

"Have we decided on a next course of action?" Rodolphus asked casually as he and his brother walked back into the room, each carrying two glasses of Firewhiskey.

"This is no time for getting drunk," Bellatrix cried. "We must prepare ourselves for battle and blood. We will be going after Dumbledore's precious Phoenix members."

Both Lestrange brothers gave twisted grins at Bellatrix's words.

"Now, we must decide carefully which ones to go after first," Barty spoke up. "We don't want them finding out that we're after them before we are able to find the Dark Lord. We need to observe them before we strike."

"Now you're really starting to sound like Lucius," Bellatrix muttered.

"Do you want to find the Dark Lord or not?" Barty asked.

"Are you honestly asking me that question?" Bellatrix said angrily.

"I am just as worried about him as you are, Bellatrix, even if you do not choose to believe that," Barty responded, softening his voice ever so slightly. "We must work together on this."

"Then who do you propose we spy on first?" Bellatrix pressed. "I don't want to wait forever for my answers. The Dark Lord needs us, and he needs us now."

"I was thinking that we should concentrate our efforts on those that are also Aurors, such as Moody and the Longbottoms," Barty suggested. "They are connected to both Dumbledore and the Ministry, so they are the most likely to know something useful."

"Then we will wait in the shadows for the perfect moment to strike them," Bellatrix declared, already smiling at the mental image of her forcing those high-and-mighty Aurors to spill their guts, both figuratively and literally.


	7. Visitors

**Author's Note** **: Harry Potter Wiki does not give the first names of Theodore Nott's, Gregory Goyle's, and Vincent Crabbe's mothers, but since I have made them all friends of Narcissa, I decided to come up with first names for them.**

 **Additional Author's Note** **: Please excuse my sad attempts at trying to give Draco baby talk.**

* * *

Narcissa looked at the clock. It still wasn't lunchtime. When would it be lunchtime?

Narcissa glanced over to where Draco was playing on the floor with his favorite stuffed dragon. Narcissa had charmed it to move, so Draco was crawling after it, trying to catch it.

Narcissa had made sure that the dragon wouldn't move too fast, so that her son would be able to catch it before he could get bored or frustrated.

Draco was currently nearing the dragon. He reached out a tiny hand and placed it on the dragon.

At Draco's touch, the dragon immediately stopped. It then turned to face the baby boy, and it shot out a small puff of bright but harmless "fire."

"Draga," Draco laughed. "Draga."

"Yes, Draco, dragon," Narcissa responded. "Just like you are."

"Draco draga," Draco said happily.

"Yes, you are a dragon," Narcissa said, now smiling slightly.

Narcissa suddenly heard the alarms going off. Someone wanted to come through the fireplace.

Draco stopped where he was, and he looked towards the fireplace.

Narcissa hesitated for a moment, fearing the worse. Then, she forced herself to approach the fireplace with a cool calmness to see who it was exactly that wanted entry.

It was Flora Nott with her baby son Theodore.

Narcissa allowed herself a slight sigh of relief.

"Flora," Narcissa spoke. "Come in. Come in."

A moment later, Flora, holding her baby son in her arms, stepped into the drawing room.

"Is this a good time, Cissa?" Flora asked. "I'm not bothering you or anything, am I?"

"No, of course not," Narcissa smiled. "I could use the company. Please, sit down. Would you like some tea?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Flora responded, sitting down on the couch.

"What about Theo?" Narcissa asked next. "Does he still like apple juice?"

"If he drinks any more of it, he will become an apple," Flora laughed.

Narcissa allowed herself to laugh as well. At the moment, she needed as many laughs as she could get.

"Well, I think he would make an adorable apple, so I'll get him some," Narcissa then spoke.

"That would much appreciated," Flora responded.

"Dobby," Narcissa called.

There was a crack, and Dobby appeared.

"Yes, Mistress," the house-elf spoke. "How may Dobby serve you?"

"Get us some tea and also some apple juice for Theo."

"Yes, Mistress."

Dobby then disappeared with a crack.

Flora began to bounce Theodore on her lap. She then looked over at Draco, who was once again crawling after his toy dragon now that all the excitement was over.

"Draco is so fast," Flora remarked.

"He can walk pretty fast as well, but he still prefers to crawl," Narcissa said. "I remember, though, the day he took his first unsupported steps. He walked all the way to Lucius without having to hold onto anything. Of course, the distance wasn't too far; but the way that Lucius went on and on about it, you would have thought that Draco walked a few thousand miles."

There was obvious affection in Narcissa's voice as she spoke about her husband bonding with their son. At the same time, though, her worry for Lucius returned at her mention of his name.

"You're worried too," Flora remarked sympathetically. "That's why I had to come over here. My husband's constant pacing was making me a nervous wreck, and that was starting to make Theo upset as well. Where is Lucius? Is he doing all right?"

"He's at the Ministry," Narcissa replied. "He keeps on telling me not to worry and he appears to be confident that everything is going to be all right, but he's always been good at hiding his emotions. I think he's more worried, though, about me and Draco than he is about himself. You know how Lucius is. He's always been protective over those that he cares about."

Flora smiled at Narcissa's words. She had more than once been on the receiving end of Lucius's protective nature.

"You're a friend of Narcissa," Lucius often told her, "and that makes you a friend of mine as well."

There was a crack, and Dobby appeared. He handed both Narcissa and Flora a cup of tea. He also handed Flora a cup with a lid on it.

Flora placed the lidded cup near her son's hands. Theodore wrapped his tiny hands around the cup.

"You got it, Theo?" Flora said.

Theodore began to drink in answer.

"Does Mistress require anything else?" Dobby asked Narcissa.

"No, that will be all for now," Narcissa spoke. "You may go."

Dobby disappeared with a crack.

The alarms suddenly began to go off again.

Draco once again stopped where he was, and he once again looked at the fireplace.

Theodore also looked over at the fireplace.

"Let me go see who it is," Narcissa said, setting aside her cup of tea as she stood up.

The worry was still there, but not at as much as it had been before Flora's arrival.

Narcissa hoped that the new arrival was another friend and not a group of Aurors.

It was two friends actually, Georgina Goyle and Nicola Crabbe. Like Flora had been, they were holding their baby sons, Gregory and Vincent.

"Cissa," both women greeted fondly.

"Georgina, Nicola," Narcissa returned, just as fondly. "Please, sit down. I'll have Dobby bring you two some tea."

Gregory and Vincent immediately began to fuss and wiggle when they caught sight of Draco.

Their mothers set them down on the floor, and they immediately began to crawl towards Draco.

"I'll have Dobby bring them some toys," Narcissa offered.

Georgina and Nicola both nodded their thanks before turning to greet Flora.

Narcissa could not help but notice that there was some worry in both Georgina's and Nicola's eyes.

 _Their husbands must be pacing nervously at home as well,_ Narcissa thought.

She then suddenly felt herself feeling glad that Lucius was out there and actually attempting to do something about their situation rather than just stay at home and do nothing but pace.

Narcissa shook her head. She knew that her friends had come here because they had needed a little break from this newest stress in their lives.

Narcissa called for Dobby and ordered him to get some tea for Georgina and Nicola and some toys for the babies.

As soon as Theodore saw the blocks, he began to wiggle in his mother's lap.

"All right, all right, Theo," Flora laughed. "I got the message."

Flora placed her son on the floor. He immediately began to crawl towards the blocks.

"Thank you for allowing us to come over, Cissa," Nicola spoke.

"You know that you're welcomed here anytime, Nicola," Narcissa responded. "I always appreciate the company. How is your husband doing?"

"He's really nervous," Nicola answered. "What about Lucius? How is he holding up?"

"He's at the Ministry to see what he can learn," Narcissa responded.

"Then we'll all be fine," Georgina spoke up. "If Lucius hears of any threats against us, he will know how to handle it."

Narcissa allowed herself a slight smile. She knew that her husband would do his best to protect them, but it was nice to hear from someone else that they also believed in Lucius's abilities.

"Did your husbands tell you what Lucius told them to do if the Aurors do come?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes," Georgina said. "They are to claim to have been under the Imperius, and we are to play our parts as well."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Auror," Nicola said in a voice that was a combination of mock sadness and sweet-sounding stupidity, "my husband was definitely under the Imperius Curse. He hasn't been himself lately. I couldn't quite place what it was exactly that was going on with him, but now that you mention You-Know-Who, it must have been Imperius."

All four women allowed themselves a slight laugh at Nicola's words.

"What's this?" came an amused drawl. "A baby invasion?"

"Lucius," Narcissa cried happily, leaping off the couch to embrace her husband.

Lucius planted a soft kiss on his wife's forehead as she buried her face into his chest.

He then turned to greet the three other women in the room.

"Lucius," they all greeted warmly in return.

"Dada," came Draco's excited voice. "Dada."

"Yes, Draco, Daddy's back home," Lucius laughed as his son began to crawl towards him, the toy dragon completely forgotten.

Lucius bent down to pick up Draco.

Theodore, who had been busy with stacking the blocks, looked up at the sound of Lucius's words.

"Hello to you too, Theo," Lucius smiled.

Theodore smiled back at Lucius before returning to the blocks.

Gregory and Vincent were too busy seeing how far they could throw the various toys to pay any attention to any of the adults in the room.

"What news from the Ministry, Lucius?" Flora asked nervously.

The mood in the room immediately turned serious as all the adults turned to look at Lucius.

"Mostly, everyone was debating whether or not the Dark Lord is really dead," Lucius spoke. "I didn't hear anyone, not even the Aurors, talking about who all they plan on going after on suspicion of being a Death Eater. I plan on returning later to the Ministry, though, to see what else I can learn. I know that the Aurors will eventually come after us, but if we all have our stories already prepared and rehearsed beforehand, we should be fine."

Flora, Georgina, and Nicola nodded their heads.

"Thank you for your news, Lucius," Flora spoke. "I'll let you and Cissa eat lunch now."

"You don't have to leave on my account," Lucius responded. "You are welcomed to stay for lunch, Flora. The same goes to you, Georgina, Nicola."

"Thank you for the offer, Lucius," Georgina said, "but I really should be returning home as well. I don't think it would be wise to leave my husband alone at home for too long."

"Same here," Nicola muttered. "Thank you for the tea, Cissa. It was nice seeing you again, Lucius."

There was an exchange of farewells as the three women gathered their sons and then made their way towards the fireplace.

Lucius, meanwhile, pushed back his long platinum blond hair to keep Draco from grabbing it. Fortunately, Draco was no longer as interested in his parents' long hair as he used to be, so he didn't try to go after his father's hair. Instead, Draco just allowed himself to be content with just being held by his father. The grin on Draco's face was full of Malfoy smugness.

* * *

As soon as they were alone, Narcissa turned to face Lucius, who was still holding Draco.

"You didn't tell them everything," Narcissa spoke. "What else did you learn at the Ministry?"

Lucius sighed slightly. It was hard for either him or Narcissa to hide anything from the other.

"Barty intends to betray me," Lucius said.

"What?" Narcissa said in disbelief.

"He's angry at me for abandoning the Dark Lord," Lucius explained, "so he decided that he was going to have a temper tantrum like the little boy that he is."

"What are you going to do, Lucius?" Narcissa asked, her voice full of worry. "Barty's father has long hated you, and as popular with the public as he currently is, he doesn't need much of an excuse to go after you."

"Barty can only say so much against me without risking betraying himself as well," Lucius replied, "and I don't believe he's yet willing to go that far."

"But he could still be dangerous to you," Narcissa returned.

"Yes, he could be," Lucius agreed, "which is why I've already taken steps against him. I haven't said too much yet, but I have said enough to get Fudge to start spreading rumors."

"Just as long as he doesn't reveal who started the rumors," Narcissa responded.

"He won't," Lucius reassured his wife. "He wouldn't want to risk exposing me in fear that would put me in danger, which would then mean that I would no longer be able to give him any more 'useful' information. It would be best, though, if you got in contact with Bellatrix as quickly as possible to try to convince her that being in Barty's company would not be in her best interest."

Personally, Lucius could care less if Bellatrix got killed or captured, but he knew that Narcissa cared about her sister and that it would devastate her if something happened to Bellatrix.

"I will write her a letter," Narcissa responded. "Hopefully she will answer it."

Lucius looked at Narcissa with a concerned expression.

Narcissa knew what her husband was asking. He was asking her if it would be all right for him to go further in his quest to take action against Barty, especially since Bellatrix was closely involved in his activities at the moment.

"I will try to talk to Bella," Narcissa spoke, "but if she's determined to go down, then that's on her. But I'm not going to lose you, Lucius. You do whatever you must to keep yourself safe."

Lucius nodded his head.

"Dada," Draco cried in a voice that clearly reflected his annoyance at having been ignored for so long.

"Don't worry, Draco, Daddy knows that you're here," Lucius laughed. "My arms are starting to get heavy."

"It's time for lunch anyways," Narcissa spoke. "Draco is probably hungry."

"Food," Draco said.

"Yes, Draco, we're going to get you some food," Narcissa laughed.

Lucius and Narcissa then began to make their way towards the dining room.

There was still plenty of work that needed to be done to ensure that they had the best future possible, but they could afford to spend a few minutes being the family that they were.


	8. Rumors

After the first day, the reality that the Dark Lord was dead (or at least gone for the moment depending on who you spoke to) really began to sink in. People still talked about the Dark Lord and Harry Potter, of course, but they were now also talking about other things.

Such as who was a Death Eater and who wasn't a Death Eater.

Fudge was one of those who was more than willing to join the various discussions.

"Have any of you heard anything about Crouch's son?" he asked a group of people that he knew very well.

"What do you mean by that, Cornelius?" a woman frowned slightly. "Surely you're not trying to suggest that young Barty is a Death Eater. He comes from a good family."

"No, of course I'm not suggesting such a horrible thing," Fudge responded. "It's just that I've heard something about him recently that suggests that he's not exactly the perfect son that everyone believes him to be."

"Did this information come from your usual source?" a man asked.

"What?"

"Cornelius, you know that I respect you," the man said, "but there's no way that all those helpful hints that you've been giving to the Aurors have been coming directly from you. You're much too busy with working to have any time to go nosing around for information."

Fudge shifted uncomfortably.

"I may have been getting my information from someone," he finally admitted, "but I can't say who it is."

"Of course, I understand," the man responded. "Your source has given you a lot of information concerning the Death Eaters. If they were to find out the identity of your source, there's no denying that he or she would be killed."

Fudge nodded his head. That was exactly the same thing that Lucius often told him.

"So, what exactly did your source say about young Barty?" another man asked.

"I hope it's something really terrible," a second woman muttered. "I would love to see Crouch Sr. get brought down several pegs. He's no better than a tyrant if you ask me."

Fudge nodded his head again. Anything that would decrease Crouch's chances of becoming the next Minister of Magic would make him happy.

"Unfortunately, my source didn't give me any details," Fudge spoke.

"Pity," the woman said.

"However," Fudge said, "I believe that my source knows more than he has revealed so far, and I have no doubt that he will eventually tell me more. He always does."

"I hope that he knows enough to completely ruin Crouch," the woman hissed.

Everyone then began to look at each other. They were now all wondering the same thing. Was Barty Crouch Jr. a Death Eater?

* * *

Lucius entered the Wizengamot's administrative headquarters in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Several people looked up at his entrance, but none of them seem surprised to see him. Lucius had years ago become "friends" with many of the Wizengamot members.

"Hi, Lucius," a woman greeted politely but also with a hint of weariness in her voice. "How are you?"

"I couldn't be better, Eva," Lucius answered. "How's your husband and son doing? Your son is turning eight in a week, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Eva smiled. "I just hope that Crouch lets me off on his birthday."

"Why wouldn't he?" Lucius asked in a confused voice.

Eva indicated a pile of papers on her desk. "Crouch plans on soon starting the arrests for suspected Death Eaters. I was about to go look for Auror Moody so that I can hand him these."

Lucius walked over to the desk. Eva pushed the papers closer to him so that he could see the names.

Lucius saw Nott's name. That wasn't too much of a surprise, especially considering the fact that Nott had been with the Dark Lord since the beginning. It was only natural that there would be some rumors about him.

Lucius also saw Avery's name. Again, not too much of a surprise. Avery was younger than Lucius and had been a Death Eater for a lesser amount of time, but unlike Lucius, Avery had often gotten in trouble at Hogwarts for cursing several Mudblood students. Avery had never been good at being subtle.

The blond-haired wizard continued to scan the names. None of them surprised him. He was a bit surprised, though, that he didn't see his name.

 _It looks like Crouch is starting off easy,_ Lucius thought to himself. _He wants to get as many as he can in one round._

Crouch could hate him all he wanted, but that didn't change the fact that Lucius had been careful in everything that he had done for the Dark Lord, always being careful not to leave any evidence behind that could be linked back to him.

Lucius knew, however, that none of that would stop Crouch from eventually coming after him. These other Death Eaters were just a little warm-up.

"It looks like there's going to be a lot of trials coming up," Lucius remarked.

"If any of them actually goes to trial," Eva sighed.

"Why wouldn't they?" Lucius asked. "Surely Crouch doesn't intend to just throw random citizens of our society into Azkaban without evidence being presented against them first."

"If Crouch fully had his way, that's exactly what would happen," Eva replied.

"What proof does Crouch have on any of these individuals?" Lucius asked, indicating the papers. "I know Nott through his wife, Flora. She's a good friend of my wife, Narcissa."

"Crouch doesn't think he needs any proof," Eva responded, "but I promise that I will try my best to ensure that Mr. Nott at the very least receives a trial."

"All of them deserve to receive a trial," Lucius returned. "How can we claim to be better than You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters if we potentially throw innocent people into Azkaban for the rest of their lives? I can't help but notice that Crouch is going after Purebloods. I know that Muggle-borns were the main targets of the war, but not every single Pureblood was involved. Many simply didn't want to get involved because they have families. Surely Crouch can understand that."

"I and several others have tried to tell Crouch this," Eva said, "but he rarely listens to us."

"The war is over," Lucius spoke. "Now he's doing nothing more than abusing his position and authority."

"Who's going to stop him?" Eva asked. "Many people lost loved ones or had loved ones seriously injured by the Death Eaters. Everyone wants quick justice. They don't necessarily care if the right person is caught. They just want someone to blame for their pain. They just want someone to suffer the consequences."

"Then it's clear to me that if I want my son Draco to grow up in a fair and just world, something must be done about Crouch," Lucius responded.

"But what can any of us do?" Eva pressed.

Lucius leaned closer to Eva. " _We_ don't need to do anything. It may be that Crouch's son will be the one to bring him down."

"What do you mean by that, Lucius?" Eva asked.

Lucius looked around nervously before turning back to Eva.

"I've heard some troubling rumors about Barty Jr.," he told her. "I'm not saying that they are necessarily true because I don't know if they are or not, but I do know that you care about _true_ justice."

Eva's eyes widened at Lucius's words.

"Hi, Eva," a man's voice spoke. "Oh, hi to you too, Lucius. It's always a pleasure to see you."

"Hello, Giles," Lucius said, turning to face the man who had just entered the room. "How are you doing? And why aren't you at home? Didn't your wife just have a baby?"

"She did," Giles answered, "but Crouch insisted that I was desperately needed today."

Eva pointed at the papers on her desk.

Giles's eyes widened at the sight. "Goodness gracious me," he said, "does Crouch truly want to go after that many people? There's no way that he can have sufficient proof on every single one of them. And both us and the Auror department have already been overworked as it is."

"Well, Crouch doesn't have a problem with any of that," Eva spoke up. "I wonder if he will also have no problem with going after his own son."

"What do you mean by that, Eva?" Giles asked, clearly interested.

Lucius decided that this was a good time to make his exit. He didn't really want to risk bumping into Crouch or one of the Aurors.

* * *

Bellatrix, Barty, Rodolphus, and Rabastan observed Frank and Alice Longbottom as the couple walked down the main street of Diagon Alley.

It had been Bellatrix who had decided that they would go after the Longbottoms first. The sight of the two Blood-Traitors truly disgusted her. The Longbottoms were one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but that had not stopped them from becoming Aurors or from joining the Order of the Phoenix. In both ways, Frank and Alice Longbottom had made it clear that they had no problem with going after their own kind in favor of the Mudbloods.

Bellatrix had also been motivated to go after the Longbottoms first because of the fact that their son Neville had been born on the same day as Harry Potter.

Bellatrix suddenly noticed that an owl was flying in her direction. She immediately recognized it as being Narcissa's owl.

 _What could she possibly want?_ Bellatrix wondered in annoyance.

"That owl is going to give us away," Barty snarled. "Who does it belong to anyways?"

"My sister," Bellatrix admitted.

"Is she trying to get us caught or something?" Barty hissed.

"Well, Cissy can be a bit of an idiot at times," Bellatrix replied, "especially when she enters 'worry' mode. She probably just wants to make sure that I'm still all right. Let's find somewhere more private."

The four went deeper into the alleyway where they had been standing.

The owl dropped the letter into Bellatrix's outstretched hand. It then landed on the ground and watched her as she opened the letter.

"What does she want?" Barty demanded.

"She wants to talk to me," Bellatrix answered.

"About what?" Barty asked.

"She didn't say."

"Well, are you going to go see her?" Barty pressed.

"So that you can claim to be more faithful to the Dark Lord because you kept on searching for him while I stopped my search for him momentarily just to go visit my baby sister?" Bellatrix sneered. "I think not. Besides, it's probably about something silly, as is the norm for Cissy. She thought that Draco smiling at her for the first time was earth-shattering news."

Bellatrix then turned to the owl. "I'm not going to write a response or anything. Just go back to my sister. Hopefully she'll get the message that I don't want to be bothered further."

Bellatrix swore that the owl gave her a glare before hooting and taking off into the air.

* * *

 **Author's Note** **: All the family names of the Sacred Twenty-Eight can be found on Harry Potter Wiki.**


	9. Arrests

It was just before lunch when Flora, carrying her son Theodore, came tumbling through the fireplace and into the main drawing room of Malfoy Manor.

Lucius knew immediately when he caught sight of Flora's tear-stained face that the Aurors must have just come for her husband.

Narcissa immediately went over to her friend to comfort her.

"What's wrong, Flora?" Narcissa asked in concern. "Is it your husband?"

Lucius had just gotten home, so he had not yet been able to tell his wife about all the names that he had seen.

Flora nodded her head. "The Aurors," she gasped. "They came to our gates, demanding entrance. I knew that they had come for my husband, but I didn't want to risk getting him in any more trouble so I let them in without any fuss. We were both very cooperative, but that didn't stop the Aurors from just taking him away. They didn't even give him a chance to say goodbye to me or Theo. And now he's probably at Azkaban already. Oh, Cissa, he's not a young man. There's no way he'll be able to endure the dementors for long."

"Your husband is not the only one the Aurors will be coming for today," Lucius spoke, walking over to the two women. "I saw a list of names when I was at the Ministry this morning."

Narcissa looked up at Lucius, the concern obvious in her eyes.

"My name wasn't on the list," he said softly.

"We're all doomed then," Flora sobbed, having heard Lucius's words.

"No, we're not," Lucius told her gently, pulling out his wand to summon some Calming Draught. "Narcissa, could you take Theo for a moment?"

"Of course," Narcissa spoke, holding out her arms to take the baby boy from her friend.

Through her tears, Flora handed her son over to Narcissa.

Lucius then sat down on the floor beside Flora and wrapped his arms around her. A glass full of Calming Draught came flying into his waiting hand.

"Here, Flora, drink this," Lucius said, offering her the Calming Draught.

Flora took the glass from Lucius's hand and gulped it down.

"You got to keep it together for Theo's sake," Lucius told Flora soothingly. "Do not despair. I will help your husband. I will end all this madness. It will be all right."

"I know, Lucius," Flora said. "I know that you will do your best."

It was clear by Flora's tone of voice that the Calming Draught was already taking effect.

Lucius looked up at Narcissa. "I expect that the other wives will be showing up soon," he told her. "There were a lot of names on the list."

"Surely the people won't stand for this," Narcissa spoke. "Most of us are from prominent families. That includes your husband, Flora."

"Regardless of what Crouch wants, there will have to be trials," Lucius added. "And at the trials, there will be people to speak on our behalves. We are too well known and held in too much high regard to just be thrown into Azkaban and automatically forgotten."

The alarms began to go off.

"It's been a while since I've laid Draco down for his nap," Narcissa spoke. "Can you go check on him, Lucius? I'll tend to our guests."

"Of course," Lucius said, getting off the floor. "I'll be back as soon as I can to help you out."

It was going to be a long couple of hours.

* * *

Narcissa scanned the headlines of the _Daily Prophet_ , expecting to see an article about the men that had been arrested on suspicion of being Death Eaters.

Instead, the article on the main page was about the arrest of Sirius Black for the murder of twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew.

"What?" Narcissa said in confusion, knowing that her disowned cousin had been fighting for the Order of the Phoenix and therefore unlikely to murder one Muggle much less twelve.

For once, she was barely paying any attention to Draco, who was sitting in his highchair and playing happily with his breakfast.

"What is it, Narcissa?" Lucius asked as he sat down at the head of the table.

Despite all his worries (even though he tried his best not to express them out loud in order not to upset Narcissa any more than she already was), Lucius was determined that he would still take the time to eat meals with his wife and son. He had missed out on many meals while he had been serving the Dark Lord, and he didn't want to miss out on any more if he could help it.

Narcissa showed her husband the newspaper.

"Well, this explains why none of us has seen Wormtail lately," Lucius said simply after he had finished reading the article about Sirius, "even though I would have never thought that he would actually have it in him to do any of this. Murdering twelve Muggles and then framing Sirius for his own murder. That was absolutely clever, resourceful, and very brilliantly twisted on Wormtail's part."

"Wormtail must have been the Potters' Secret Keeper," Narcissa breathed. "Sirius knew that the Dark Lord would come after him, and he must have thought Wormtail to be too insignificant to gain anyone's attention, much less the Dark Lord's."

"Well, I guess Sirius should have given more credit to someone that he had supposedly considered a friend since their Hogwarts days," Lucius drawled. "I knew that Wormtail was nothing more than a sniveling coward, but I never would have thought that he would actually have it in him to betray his former friends. Now, one of them is dead and another one is in Azkaban. I can't believe the werewolf had the best luck out of all of them."

Lucius scanned the article again. "It doesn't appear as if dear Sirius will be receiving a trial."

"Surely our society won't stand for that," Narcissa spoke. "Despite all the wrong that he has done, Sirius is still a Pureblood from an ancient and noble family."

"Sirius is also nothing more than a spoiled brat that has always been more concerned with being a rebel than with making connections with important, powerful people," Lucius responded. "He has no friends or allies within the Ministry, and he has never taken the time to make himself prominent and therefore important enough for our society as a whole to really care what happens to him. People are going to just read about his supposed crimes and condemn him immediately. A few people may be upset about this, but most just won't care and he will quickly be forgotten."

"Well, I could care less what happens to him either," Narcissa said. "He has always done nothing but treat me with contempt, and it's about time that he gets what he deserves."

"Nevertheless, I can tell that a part of you is upset by this news," Lucius observed.

"Sirius is the last living male Black," Narcissa explained. "He never had any children. And with him going to Azkaban for the rest of his life, he never will have a chance to have any children. The Black family name will die with him."

Narcissa had to take several moments to compose herself. "The Blacks use to be such a huge family," she said, "and now we're all but gone. I know that Dromeda has a daughter, but she has long ago ceased to be family. Not that it would matter anyways if she was still on our family tree. Her daughter carries her husband's family name, not hers. And it's the same with Draco."

Lucius felt as if he had been verbally slapped. He had to look away from his wife. He didn't want her to see how much her words had hurt him.

"I'm sorry, Lucius," Narcissa spoke, reaching for her husband's hand. "I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. You couldn't help being born a boy any more than I could help being born a girl. And I am happy beyond words to be your wife. Forgive me. I shouldn't have spoken such thoughtless words."

"You never need to apologize to me for speaking the truth, Narcissa," Lucius replied. "Neither of us can help the duties that we are expected to uphold as Purebloods. I just wish I could fix this somehow."

"It was Sirius who made the decision to betray the Black name," Narcissa responded.

There was silence for several moments.

Draco continued to play with his breakfast without either of his parents really noticing.

"Have you gotten in contact with Bellatrix yet?" Lucius suddenly asked Narcissa. "Sirius's arrest and imprisonment is going to make Crouch even bolder than he already is, if such a thing truly is possible. But with Sirius's supposed crimes, Crouch will be able to get even more people on his side, which means that less people will make a fuss when more people are arrested and thrown into Azkaban without a trial."

Lucius didn't need to say that all this meant that he needed to work fast on making sure that the Wizarding World found out that Barty Jr. was a Death Eater so that his father would be permanently ruined.

"She hasn't responded to any of my letters," Narcissa said. "How long do you think you have, Lucius?"

"I don't know," Lucius answered, "but knowing Crouch, he won't spend too long celebrating the imprisonment of a supposed Death Eater. He will want to keep on going while he's hot."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to do something that will really get Bella's attention," Narcissa responded.

Lucius suddenly found himself glancing over in Draco's direction.

Lucius's eyes widened, and he had to struggle to not burst out laughing.

Narcissa found herself looking in Draco's direction as well.

Draco's entire body was completely covered by what was supposed to have been his breakfast.

"Draco, you were supposed to eat that food, not wear it," Narcissa attempted to scold.

Narcissa, however, was not able to long maintain her stern face. She could not help but burst out laughing at the sight of her messy son.

Lucius quickly began laughing as well.

It was a rare carefree moment for the two Malfoys. And it felt so good to laugh. It had been too long since either Lucius or Narcissa had really had any reason to laugh.


	10. Discussions

"How much longer are we going to just observe them?" Bellatrix hissed at Barty. "I'm ready for them to tell us where we can find the Dark Lord. I don't want him thinking that we have all abandoned him."

"Soon, Bellatrix, soon," Barty replied calmly.

"How soon?" Bellatrix shrieked.

"Do you want the Longbottoms to hear you?" Barty taunted.

Bellatrix looked at Barty in outrage, but she didn't say anything.

"Someone is about to get a Howler," Rodolphus suddenly remarked casually. He looked closer. "Bellatrix, it looks like your sister's owl."

Everyone looked, and they saw that there was indeed an owl carrying a red envelope.

And it was flying right towards Bellatrix.

The owl dropped the envelope right at Bellatrix's feet before flying back into the air.

"I can't believe she actually had the audacity to send me a Howler," Bellatrix hissed. "What was she thinking? What's wrong with her?"

Barty pulled out his wand to cast _Muffliato_.

 _I can't believe I'm actually using a spell invented by that cowardly traitor Severus,_ Barty thought.

But as soon as the Howler were opened, everyone in their immediate area (including the Longbottoms) would know that they were there, and that couldn't be allowed to happen.

Bellatrix picked up the Howler and opened it.

Immediately, Narcissa's voice began to yell angrily, "I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU IMMEDIATELY, BELLATRIX! IT IS ABOUT A MATTER OF GRAVE IMPORTANCE! GET HERE NOW OR I WILL DO WORSE!"

With those words, the enveloped burst into flames, leaving only ashes behind.

Barty, Rodolphus, and Rabastan all looked at Bellatrix.

"What?" the witch exclaimed angrily. "Don't look at me like that. I am not responsible for my dear sister's behavior."

"You better go see her and find out what she wants before she does something that will give us away," Barty spoke.

Bellatrix pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at Barty's face.

"Do not do anything while I am gone," she snarled. "You will need my help to get the Longbottoms to talk. You are but an infant in the art of torture."

Barty gave Bellatrix a mock bow. "As you wish, my lady."

Bellatrix hissed through her teeth and she gave Barty a dangerous look before Disapparating.

* * *

Narcissa paced nervously in her personal study. Lucius had left for the Ministry immediately after breakfast, and she was worried that this time he wouldn't be coming back home.

She was also worried about Bellatrix. Would the Howler be enough to finally get Bellatrix to come talk to her? And if it was, would Bellatrix actually listen to her? Lucius couldn't hold off much longer on exposing Barty.

There was a crack, and Dobby appeared in the room.

"Your sister is here to see you," Dobby spoke.

"Finally," Narcissa hissed. "Escort her here, Dobby."

"Yes, Mistress."

Narcissa forced herself to sit down on the couch.

It wasn't long before Dobby walked into the room, closely followed by Bellatrix.

"You may leave now," Narcissa told Dobby.

"Yes, Mistress."

"I got your message," Bellatrix growled at her sister. "What's so important that you had to send me a Howler? A Howler! What were you thinking, Narcissa?"

"You were ignoring my other letters," Narcissa responded. "You left me with no other choice."

"Whatever," Bellatrix responded, waving her hand impatiently. "I'm here now. Tell me what you want and make it quick. I have more important things to do than to listen to your silly concerns."

"I don't consider your freedom to be a silly concern," Narcissa snapped.

Bellatrix looked at her sister in disbelief. "You're still worried about that. Cissy, you know that there is nothing more important than me than the Dark Lord. And he ought to be the most important thing to you as well. You should be wanting to find him as well."

"Lucius has been to the Ministry," Narcissa spoke, "and he has not heard anything about where to find the Dark Lord. He is gone, Bella."

Bellatrix rolled up her left sleeve.

"He is not gone," Bellatrix hissed. "My Mark is still here. It wouldn't be still here if he was gone."

"Well, wherever he is, he is currently weak," Narcissa responded. "He is in no condition to continue this war at the moment."

"You wouldn't be speaking this way if it was _Lucius_ that was missing," Bellatrix said, her voice a combination of mockery and anger.

Narcissa sat up even straighter.

"Lucius is my husband," she spoke in a soft but deadly voice.

"And he has done his part in creating an heir for both his family and ours," Bellatrix drawled lazily. "He has served his purpose. He is no longer needed."

"We have had these types of conversations before," Narcissa responded. "We are getting nowhere by continuing on like this."

"Then I'll be leaving," Bellatrix returned.

"Wait," Narcissa cried. "If you won't listen to me about looking for the Dark Lord, then at least listen to me about Barty."

"What about Barty?" Bellatrix pressed.

"Don't look for the Dark Lord with him," Narcissa said.

"Why not? I will admit that the boy is full of himself, but at least he has his priorities straight."

"He is not as experienced as you," Narcissa tried to explain, wanting to be careful with her words. She didn't want to risk saying anything that would give away Lucius's plan to betray Barty.

"Which is why he's with me," Bellatrix responded. "But despite his inexperience, he does have his uses. He's not a complete idiot, and he has some skill with a wand. He will be most helpful to me."

"Still, though, his inexperience could cause him to make a mistake," Narcissa tried again, "and that mistake could end up costing you everything. The Aurors are not letting up just because most of the public believes that the Dark Lord is dead. Have you not read the _Daily Prophet_ today?"

"If there was any news about the Dark Lord, it wouldn't be in that piece of rubbish," Bellatrix sneered.

"But surely you must have heard people talking," Narcissa returned. "Sirius's arrest and imprisonment for the supposed murder of thirteen people isn't exactly minor news."

"Oh, yes, I did hear some people talking about _him_ ," Bellatrix said, the anger in her voice clear. "It's no less than what that filthy Blood-Traitor deserved."

"I couldn't agree more," Narcissa replied. "But don't you see what this means for us? This will make Crouch ever bolder and even more vicious in his quest to round us all up. Don't think for a moment that Barty's presence with be enough to protect you. Crouch wants to be the next Minister of Magic, and he won't allow a Death Eater son to ruin that. And I also know for a fact that you have no more connections in the Ministry than Sirius did."

"Well, not all of us are as concerned about being a politician as Lucius is," Bellatrix sneered. "Some of us actually have our priorities straight. Some of us actually care more about the Dark Lord than themselves."

"Do you truly believe that the Dark Lord cares as much about you as you do him?" Narcissa asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"You are close to speaking treason, Cissy," Bellatrix warned, her eyes narrowing. "Lucius has clearly been a bad influence on you."

"This is me speaking, not my husband," Narcissa snapped. "I am more than capable of thinking for myself."

Narcissa's voice then became more concerned. "Bella, please, for my sake, stop your search for the Dark Lord. Haven't we lost enough family already?"

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Cissy," Bellatrix replied. "You worry too much. Besides, we are already close to finding the Dark Lord."

"You are?"

"Yes," Bellatrix grinned. "We're going to be having a little conversation with the Longbottoms very soon."

"The Longbottoms? Why them?"

"They're close to Dumbledore," Bellatrix explained, "and there's no way that Dumbledore doesn't have some idea of where the Dark Lord can be found. And if the Longbottoms don't know enough, we can always hold them hostage until Dumbledore comes to speak with us personally."

Narcissa groaned. "Don't be a fool, Bella."

"Don't you dare call me a fool, Cissy," Bellatrix growled. "I'm not afraid of Dumbledore. He's just an old man who thinks way too highly of himself."

Bellatrix's voice then turned crazed. "Oh, Cissy, the mighty will fall, and it will be a glorious sight."

"That would depend on which mighty falls," Narcissa replied.

"You worry too much, Cissy," Bellatrix returned. "Now, do you have anything of actual importance to tell me? Because I really must be going."

"No, I have nothing more to tell you that you would actually listen to," Narcissa sighed. "Just try to be a little careful."

"The Longbottoms aren't nothing that I can't handle," Bellatrix replied. "I will be just fine. Now stop acting so silly."

She then turned and left the room.

Narcissa shook her head. She had tried her best, but Bellatrix had made her decision.

Narcissa then directed her attention to the ring on her finger. Bellatrix's plan of going after the Longbottoms could prove to be useful to Lucius, especially since Barty was going to be there as well.

But that would mean betraying her own sister.

But what if betraying Barty ended up being the key to saving her husband?

"Lucius won't give anyone the full details," Narcissa muttered to herself. "He may not like Bella, but he knows how much she means to me. He will say just enough to get people interested into finding out what exactly young, perfect Barty has been up to."

Narcissa just hoped that Bellatrix would be resourceful enough to keep herself safe.

* * *

Lucius made sure to keep himself close to people that he had spent some time making strong connections with. When Crouch did eventually come for him, he wanted to make sure that his arrest would cause a scene.

"The whole Black business was just awful," a woman said. "Thank goodness we have someone like Crouch to handle such things."

"So, it doesn't disturb you at all that someone has just been sent to Azkaban without a trial?" Lucius pressed, his voice full of concern.

"Not when they're clearly guilty," the woman replied.

"But Black has not been the only one sent to Azkaban without a trial," Lucius responded. "I have several friends in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and they have told me about numerous people that were sent to Azkaban with no concrete evidence against them. Black was a rare case. And I think it's safe to say that those that work in that department would know more about such things than any of us."

The woman began to shift nervously on her feet, clearly disturbed by Lucius's words.

Everyone else in their company also began to look uncomfortable.

"Well, if that's the case, then something must be done about it," Fudge spoke up. "It's not right, and it's not the type of world that I want to live in. I want to live in a world where actual evidence and proof matters. Why, an innocent person could be sent to Azkaban for life if that is how Crouch is running things."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucius caught sight of a group of Aurors coming their way.

All the Aurors' eyes were on him.

Lucius noticed that Moody was in the lead, which didn't surprise the blond-haired wizard at all. Moody had probably insisted to Crouch that he be the one allowed to arrest Lucius Malfoy.

"Good morning," Lucius greeted all the Aurors politely. He made a point of especially nodding his head respectfully at Moody.

"Lucius Malfoy," Moody spoke.

 _That's right,_ Lucius thought. _You go ahead and act as if you don't know me. And why are you being so formal? You've never been formal with anything._

Outwardly, Lucius gave Moody a puzzled look, as if he was wondering what an Auror could possibly want with him.

The group of people that Lucius had been talking to were also giving Moody puzzled looks.

"Yes, that's me," Lucius said politely to Moody. "What can I do for you?"

Moody pulled out his wand and said simply, "Mr. Malfoy, you are under arrest."


	11. Protest

Lucius looked at Moody for several moments in shocked silence.

Behind him, Lucius could feel that the group of people he had been talking to just moments ago were also looking at the Auror in shock.

"I beg your pardon," Lucius finally said, his voice a combination of confusion and politeness.

His goal was to cause a scene without being the one who became angry or aggressive.

"You are under arrest," Moody repeated.

"For what?" Lucius asked.

"I think you know what for, Mr. Malfoy," Moody growled.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Lucius responded. "I can't remember doing anything wrong. What am I under arrest for?"

"For being a Death Eater," Moody hissed.

Everyone behind Lucius gasped.

"A Death Eater?" Lucius breathed, his voice completely shocked and horrified. "When was I a Death Eater? I don't remember ever being a Death Eater."

"Surely you must be mistaken," Fudge spoke up. "There's no way that Lucius is a Death Eater. He has done so much good for both the Ministry and for our world as a whole."

"Yes, surely you must have heard about all his generous donations to St. Mungo's," a woman added. "Not to mention all the potion ingredients that Malfoy Apothecary provides for St. Mungo's as well. There's no telling how many lives, including the lives of many _Muggle-borns_ , have been saved because of Lucius's generosity."

At the same time as the woman was speaking, a man was saying, "We won't tolerate any longer this persecution of innocent citizens. Where's your proof?"

"We are no longer at war," another woman shrieked. "You can't just go around arresting whoever you please."

"Yes," another man added, "we know all about how you Aurors are arresting people without there being any evidence against them."

Lucius resisted the temptation to smirk, and he somehow managed to maintain a confused but innocent expression on his face.

All the Aurors now had their wands out.

Everyone continued to glare angrily at the Aurors, but the wands kept them from stepping forward to mount a more physical attack.

"Please, my friends, calm down," Lucius said. "I don't want any of you getting in trouble on my behalf. I'm sure that all your concerns are important to the Aurors."

"Yes," Moody breathed in a voice that made it clear that he was struggling to remain patient. "Despite what you all may have heard, we are not going around and arresting random people."

"Lies," Fudge cried. "You speak nothing but lies. What about the truth for once? What about Barty Crouch Jr.? There's more evidence pointing to him being a Death Eater than there is to Lucius being one."

"I appreciate your support, Fudge," Lucius spoke, "but you really shouldn't be saying such awful things. I don't think Crouch Sr. would appreciate anyone speaking so ill of his only son and child."

"I can assure all of you that we are investigating these rumors concerning Crouch Jr.," Moody growled, "but there are many rumors going around the Ministry. We must take them all into account, and it will take some time to sort everything out."

Moody then directed his attention back to Lucius. "Mr. Malfoy, are you going to come quietly, or are we going to have to take you by force?"

"He hasn't done anything wrong," a woman shrieked.

Lucius turned and placed a comforting hand on the woman's arm.

"It's going to be all right," he said to her. "The evidence will show that I am innocent. Because I surely can't remember ever being a Death Eater."

Moody rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything in response to Lucius's words.

"Only if there is a trial," the woman cried, giving Moody a significant look.

"You need not concern yourself with Mr. Malfoy," Moody hissed. "He will be well taken care of."

Moody then turned back to Lucius with clear impatience on his face. "Mr. Malfoy."

"All right, all right," Lucius cried. "I don't want to be killed for something I didn't do. But will you make sure that this news is given to my wife gently?"

The women looked at Lucius with soft expressions on their faces, clearly touched by his concern for Narcissa.

"We'll be sensitive towards your wife," Moody snarled.

"Thank you," Lucius breathed. "Thank you so much for your generosity."

Several women sobbed.

"It's going to be all right," Lucius said. "I'll be just fine."

"Your wand, Mr. Malfoy," Moody snapped.

Lucius pulled his wand out of his snake-head cane and handed it to Moody, which the Auror immediately pocketed.

Moody then waved his wand, and chains appeared on Lucius's wrists.

"Come along now, Mr. Malfoy," Moody growled, grabbing Lucius by his left forearm.

Lucius swore that he felt his Dark Mark burning for just a brief moment.

Moody looked at him, but Lucius just gave him a blank stare in response.

 _I can play these minds games better than you,_ Lucius thought.

Moody then waved his wand at the crowd, motioning for them to get out of the way.

"Is this your idea of justice, threatening people just because they're concerned about the well-being of a friend?" Fudge asked angrily.

"It's all right, Fudge," Lucius spoke calmly. "I don't want any of you getting in trouble on my behalf. Crouch doesn't need much encouragement to arrest someone."

"He doesn't need _any_ encouragement to arrest someone," a man muttered.

Everyone, however, did move out of the way for the Aurors.

* * *

"I hope you enjoyed that little scene that you just caused," Moody hissed at Lucius as they began to walk down the hallway.

"I didn't do anything," Lucius replied. "I just wanted to know what I was being arrested for. It was my friends that was angry about it because they're concerned about me. And for good reason. My friends in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have told me about all the people thrown into Azkaban without a trial. Could we slow down a bit? I'm afraid I'm not feeling too well today, and you wouldn't want it getting around the Ministry that I got sick while I was in your custody, now would you?"

Moody growled angrily, but he did slow down his pace.

"Thank you," Lucius said. "I have to say, all this has me very confused. Like I said back there, I can't remember ever being a Death Eater. I most definitely can't remember doing anything wrong."

"Let me guess," Moody spoke mockingly. "You were under the influence of the Imperius Curse, right?"

Moody's voice then turned angry. "How many more of you are going to use that as an excuse?"

"If it's the truth, then it's not an excuse," Lucius cried. "How much further do we have to go? I'm really not feeling well."

"Let me guess," Moody snapped. "You're slowly starting to feel guilt for all the horrible things that you did while you were under the Imperius Curse, right? But I can play along for a moment. I'm taking you to Crouch. He wants to see you personally."

"Why?" Lucius asked. "I'm really confused now. What exactly is going on here?"

Moody's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything in response.

* * *

They finally stopped outside the door leading to Crouch's office.

Moody knocked on the door. "I got Malfoy."

"Enter," came Crouch's voice from the opposite side.

Moody opened the door and pulled Lucius into the room.

"Thank you, Auror Moody," Crouch spoke, his eyes fully on Lucius. "You may all go now. There are still others that need to be arrested."

Moody hesitated. "I don't think that would be wise."

"I can handle Malfoy," Crouch insisted, pulling out his wand.

"He will try to make you angry," Moody growled, "and people will hear about it if you rough him up any. He already has a substantial group of people, many of whom are other important, influential Ministry officials, upset over his arrest."

Crouch just waved away Moody's concern.

"I'm trying to help you here, Barty," Moody said. "Don't do anything foolish with Malfoy."

"I will keep your words in consideration," Crouch replied, his eyes still fully on Lucius.

"Let me at least bind him to the chair," Moody spoke.

Lucius swayed slightly. "I really think I'm going to be sick."

 _When all else fails,_ Lucius thought in amusement at the angry looks on both Moody's and Crouch's faces, _use drama to your advantage._

"Let me at least stay here," Moody growled. "The others can make the rest of the arrests."

Crouch looked annoyed, but he nodded his head.

Moody then gestured for the other Aurors to leave.

Lucius was now standing in between two men that he knew absolutely hated him.


	12. Confrontation

"What is the meaning behind all this?" Lucius demanded. "I want to know what evidence you have against me, and I want to know why I've been brought here."

Lucius, though, was careful to keep his voice from becoming too haughty or too hostile. He had no doubt that the news of his arrest had spread throughout the Ministry by now and that Fudge and the others were probably trying to find out where he had been taken. They could come through the door at any moment, so Lucius had to continue treating all this as a performance. He didn't want to sound like a man who thought himself above the law. He wanted to sound like an innocent man who was merely desperate to avoid a life sentence in Azkaban for a crime that he had not committed.

"We have plenty of evidence against you, Malfoy," Crouch growled.

"Well, show me this evidence," Lucius responded. "Do you have any eyewitnesses? And if you do, who are these eyewitnesses? Are they respectable citizens, or are they Death Eaters hoping to receive a more lenient sentence? And don't try to tell me, Crouch, that you would never negotiate with a Death Eater. Everyone knows about the deal that you made with Igor Karkaroff."

"I don't need any eyewitnesses," Crouch snapped.

"Well, you need something," Lucius drawled. "The public isn't going to stand for this. I am not like Sirius Black, who had no powerful connections in our world. I have many friends in the Ministry, very important friends."

"Yes, I am aware of all that," Crouch returned, his eyes narrowing with anger at the mention of Sirius's name, "and that is the only reason why you're on your way to Azkaban at this moment."

"Ah, so this is all for show," Lucius remarked. "Well, if you really want to put on a good show, how about going after actual Death Eaters for a change? I have heard plenty of rumors. One of those rumors, in fact, is about your son. Do you even know where he's at? When was the last time you saw him or spoke to him?"

"So, _you're_ the one who started those rumors about my son being a Death Eater," Crouch snarled, lifting up his wand. "You despicable bastard. You think to spread lies about my son just to save yourself."

"Barty," Moody warned. "He wants you to attack him. He wants his allies in the Ministry to be even more upset with you."

Crouch glared at the Auror, but he did lower his wand.

"I don't know who started those horrible rumors about your son," Lucius spoke to Crouch, "but I have never called him a Death Eater anywhere within the walls of this building."

Crouch looked at Lucius as if he wanted to curse him. Then, Crouch forced himself to sit down behind his desk.

"So, what evidence do you have against me?" Lucius asked again. "Or do you plan on beating a confession out of me, like you did with Nott, Macnair, Avery, Goyle, Crabbe, and all the others that have recently been arrested? We are all respectable citizens. There's no way that every single one of us is a Death Eater."

Crouch began to rise from his chair.

"Don't, Barty," Moody hissed. "You are just giving him what he wants."

The ring on Lucius's finger suddenly went warm.

Narcissa. She was probably wondering where he was. It had been almost lunchtime when he had been arrested.

Lucius had to keep himself from looking down at his ring.

"I've had enough of this," Crouch growled at Lucius. "I've kept you in here long enough to satisfy the public."

"So, you aren't even going to try to force a confession out of me?" Lucius asked in disbelief. "You have nothing on me, Crouch, nothing."

The ring on Lucius's finger went warm again.

This time, Lucius couldn't keep himself from looking down.

 _Oh, Narcissa, I'm so sorry. I hate that I'm still worrying you._

"Moody, something is up with that ring on his finger," Crouch said. "Go get it from him and bring it to me."

"It's just a Protean Charm," Lucius spoke. "My wife is probably wondering why I'm not yet home for lunch. May I at least explain to her what's going on?"

"You're not getting your wand back," Crouch growled.

"I wasn't going to try to escape or anything," Lucius responded. "I have no reason to run."

"So, does that meant that you're going to go to Azkaban without a fight?" Crouch pressed.

Lucius began to back away from both Crouch and Moody.

"Please, don't hurt me," Lucius begged, allowing his voice to rise in volume. "I'm sorry I can't answer your questions. I just can't remember anything."

"Enough of that," Crouch roared.

"Don't come towards me," Lucius cried. "What do you plan on doing to me?"

Then, in a softer voice, Lucius told Crouch, "Try to send me to Azkaban and I'll make sure that everyone knows all about how you used the Cruciatus Curse on me. The war is over, so you're no longer allowed to legally use it. And you know that it doesn't leave any marks, so it won't be easy to verify if I'm telling the truth or not. Not that it would really matter. There are many in the Ministry that have had enough of your tyrannical rule."

"You bastard," Crouch breathed.

"Enough of this, Malfoy," Moody growled. "You will get a trial, which is more than what you deserve."

"I am not going to spend several months in Azkaban waiting for my trial," Lucius replied. "If I'm going to have one, I want it now."

"I have other things to do today," Crouch hissed.

"Like finding your son?" Lucius asked innocently.

Crouch lifted up his wand.

"Barty," Moody cried.

"Go ahead," Lucius said to Crouch. "Do your worse."

Moody tried to grab Crouch's wand from him, but Crouch managed to shake the Auror off.

"What are you doing?" Lucius shrieked, his voice once again raising in volume. "Lower your wand."

Crouch and Moody were still fighting over the wand when a jinx came shooting out of it.

Lucius allowed the jinx to strike him. Fortunately, it wasn't as painful as he had been expecting. But then again, Lucius was no stranger to pain, and this would hardly be the first time that he had willingly exposed himself to pain in order to make one of his plans successful.

For show, though, Lucius allowed himself to fall down to the floor. This moment was too perfect for him not to make the best use out of it. When he was taken to St. Mungo's, which was a part of his plan, he wanted to make sure that there were actual signs that he had been attacked while in custody.

 _You played straight into my hands, Crouch, you fool._

Moody caught sight of Lucius.

"This is going to make things worse for you," the Auror then roared at Crouch.

Lucius cried out slightly, as if he was in great pain, even though in reality he was feeling at most a little discomfort.

But it would be worth the slight discomfort in the end if Lucius was able to escape from serving any time at Azkaban.

* * *

There was suddenly frantic pounding on the door.

"What's going on in there?" came Fudge's panicked voice from the opposite side. "Lucius, are you all right?"

Lucius released another cry of pain.

There was more pounding, this time from several people, on the door.

"I warned you," Moody hissed at Crouch. "I warned you."

The Auror then walked over to the door and pulled it open.

Fudge was among the group that came piling into the room, along with Eva and Giles from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Fudge caught sight of Lucius on the floor.

"Oh, Lucius," Fudge cried, racing to his side. "Are you all right?"

"Crouch hit me with something," Lucius said in a shaky voice as he grasped his chest.

Fudge glared angrily at Crouch.

"You are out of your department, Fudge," Crouch snarled.

"Maybe, but that is not the case with us," Eva spoke up, indicating her and Giles.

 _I couldn't have planned this more perfectly,_ Lucius thought.

Giles walked over to Lucius, who was still holding his chest.

"Do you need to go to St. Mungo's, Lucius?" Giles asked in concern.

Lucius nodded his head weakly.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Crouch roared. "He is under arrest. The only place that he's going is Azkaban."

"No, Crouch, not in his condition," Eva said.

"I didn't hit him with anything that bad," Crouch insisted.

"So, you are confirming that you did hit Mr. Malfoy with something," Eva stated in a matter-of-fact voice. "You are confirming that you attacked a bound and unarmed prisoner."

For once, Crouch was speechless.

 _I truly could not have planned this any better,_ Lucius thought, having to struggle to not smirk.

"You can have a group of Aurors escort Mr. Malfoy to St. Mungo's," Eva then said, "and he will have his trial as soon as he recovers."

Eva bent down closer to Lucius. "I'm really sorry about all this, Lucius. I know that you are innocent. I wish I could have gotten all the charges automatically dropped, but Crouch still has authority over me and all the others in the department."

"It's all right, Eva," Lucius gasped. "I know that you did your best. I'm just grateful that this will all be over quickly and that I won't have to go to Azkaban. You are truly the best friend that anyone could ever hope for. I just need for someone to inform my wife. I know that she's worried about me by now. I was supposed to be home for lunch."

"I will speak with her personally," Eva promised, "as soon as I ensure that you safely make it to St. Mungo's."

"Thank you, Eva, thank you."

* * *

Moody, meanwhile, was glaring at Crouch.

"I know, I know," Crouch snapped. "I should not have allowed Malfoy to get to me like that. I should have better listen to your warnings."

Crouch's face suddenly turned weary.

"Moody, I really need you to do a favor for me."

"Yes."

"I need you to find my son. He has not responded to any of my letters."

* * *

From his position on the floor, where he was still being tended to by Fudge, Eva, Giles, and all the others, Lucius heard the exchange between Crouch and Moody.

 _So, Crouch is worried that the rumors about his son might be true after all,_ Lucius thought with an inward smirk.

Everything was going according to plan.


	13. Hospital

Narcissa, holding Draco close to her chest, followed Eva into St. Mungo's.

Lunch had been on the table, but Narcissa had not been able to eat anything. Lucius had promised to be home for lunch. However, he had not been nowhere in sight, and he had not responded to the repeated messages that she had left on their rings.

Then, Eva from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had shown up and had told Narcissa that Lucius had been arrested and was currently at St. Mungo's.

Narcissa had immediately fumed in both anger and concern. How dare those Aurors hurt her husband so badly that he had to be sent to the hospital. And how dare they arrest him in the first place. She knew that they had no evidence against him.

Narcissa had then grabbed Draco from his highchair, so that she could follow Eva to the hospital.

Draco had been in the middle of eating his lunch, but he must had seen the expression on his mother's face or he must had sensed how upset she was because he had not fussed like he usually would have.

At the moment, Draco was the quietest that Narcissa had ever known him to be while he was awake.

* * *

Eva and Narcissa walked over to the Inquiries desk.

"We're here to see Lucius Malfoy," Eva spoke.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Malfoy is not allowed any visitors at this moment," the witch behind the desk said.

Narcissa stepped forward. "This is Lucius Malfoy we're talking about," she growled, "the same Lucius Malfoy who has donated lots of money to this hospital, the same Lucius Malfoy who has provided this hospital with valuable potion ingredients through his business Malfoy Apothecary."

"I know all this, Mrs. Malfoy," the witch responded, "but your husband isn't exactly an ordinary patient today."

"I know that he is under arrest for a crime that he did not commit," Narcissa snarled, "but I still demand to see him. It is the least that you can do for all that he has done for this hospital. It is the least that the Aurors can do for injuring him while he was bound and unarmed in their custody. And I don't think I really need to add that my husband should have never been arrested in the first place."

"Dada," Draco spoke suddenly. "Dada."

"I know you want to see your daddy, Draco," Narcissa said soothingly, her voice now soft and gentle, "but this nice lady here isn't allowing us to."

"Dada," Draco repeated.

The witch behind the desk shifted uncomfortably. "He's on the fourth floor."

"Thank you," Narcissa said before sweeping off, Eva close behind her.

* * *

On the fourth floor, they were met by a group of Aurors.

"I want to see my husband, Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa demanded.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy, but we can't allow that," one of the Aurors spoke.

"But you could allow him to be injured," Narcissa said angrily.

"We weren't responsible for that," the Auror responded.

"He was in Auror custody when it happened, so it is your responsibility," Narcissa retorted. "What is the meaning of this huge guard for just one man? My husband is injured and unarmed."

"That may be the case, but he is still under arrest," the Auror explained.

"Let me put this simply," Narcissa hissed. "If you don't let me see my husband, I will make sure that everyone knows how he was injured while he was bound and unarmed. How will that make all of you look, especially considering how many powerful friends Lucius has at the Ministry?

The Auror looked at the others with him.

"Moody isn't going to like this," one of the Aurors remarked. "He made it clear that Malfoy isn't to have any visitors."

"I won't try to help him to escape or anything," Narcissa said, softening the harsh tone of her voice just slightly now that she saw that she was on the verge of getting her way.

Narcissa then pulled out her wand. "Here, you can keep my wand with you while I go in the room to see him."

The Auror hesitated a moment before saying, "All right but make it quick. But only you, Mrs. Malfoy."

He looked at Eva as he was speaking his last statement.

Narcissa shifted Draco in her arms.

"You can bring your son with you, but he's the absolute _only_ one that you can bring with you," the Auror said.

Narcissa turned to Eva. "Thank you for informing me of Lucius's arrest so quickly."

"I wish I could do more," Eva responded.

"I'm just glad that Lucius won't be going to Azkaban without first receiving a trial, and for that we are both grateful to you," Narcissa returned.

Eva nodded her head at Narcissa and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Narcissa smiled back at the other woman to show her appreciation.

* * *

Once Eva was gone, Narcissa handed the Auror her wand. He then turned and unlocked the door leading to Lucius's room.

"Thank you," Narcissa said as she walked past all the Aurors.

"I'm going to leave the door open," the Auror spoke.

That would definitely hinder Narcissa's ability to give Lucius any sensitive information, but she didn't allow any of her frustration to show on her face. She was just glad that she was going to be allowed to see her husband.

Narcissa walked into the room, where she was greeted by the sight of her husband lying on a hospital bed.

"Narcissa," Lucius breathed. "Draco."

"Dada," Draco said happily.

Lucius held out his arms to take Draco.

"How are you doing today?" Lucius asked his son with a smile on his face.

Narcissa allowed herself a slight smile before her face went back to being serious and concerned.

"How are you feeling, Lucius?"

"Like I've been hit by a ton of bricks," Lucius answered, giving her a slight smirk.

Lucius's voice sounded like that of a man in pain, but his smirk spoke otherwise.

Lucius had always had a flair for the dynamic, which was one of the things that Narcissa loved about him as she had never been bold enough to be the same way.

Narcissa could remember often telling Lucius how he was more than dramatic enough for the both of them.

"I'm going to make sure that the Ministry hears about this," Narcissa spoke, going along with her husband's act. She could be a little dramatic as well when necessary. "I know that we still have friends in the Ministry, such as Eva and others from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"It is such a relief to know that there is still some justice in our world," Lucius responded. "I'm just sorry about all the worry I have caused you. I wish I could be eating lunch with you. I hope that your sister at least will be able to eat dinner with you later on."

"No, Bella won't be able to make dinner," Narcissa returned, somehow managing to keep the sadness out of her voice. "Her and her husband have other plans for tonight."

Lucius took his wife's hand and gently squeezed it in sympathy.

He then spoke in a sad but casual voice, "I'm sorry that it will be just you and Draco tonight."

"You can't help it, Lucius," Narcissa responded. "It's not your fault that you've been arrested. I don't understand any of this. What have you ever done to deserve this kind of treatment?"

"I don't know," Lucius replied. "I wish I could remember."

Narcissa looked down at the ring on her finger. She didn't want to betray Bellatrix, but Barty needed to be exposed as a Death Eater, especially now that Lucius had been arrested. Of course, knowing her husband, he probably could ensure that he would be found innocent without having to involve Barty.

However, it definitely wouldn't hurt Lucius's case if Barty's status as a Death Eater was revealed. Just as long, of course, if Lucius wasn't also revealed.

But how was she going to tell Lucius about the Longbottoms without running into the risk of giving him away as a Death Eater?

"The Aurors are wasting their time and resources by being here to guard you," Narcissa spoke. "You're not some dangerous criminal. No, the Aurors should be out on the streets, looking for actual Death Eaters, especially before they begin to attack those that had opposed them during the war. I mean, it makes sense to me that the Death Eaters would want to seek some form of vengeance for their master. You would think that would make sense to the Aurors as well."

"Yes, you would think that," Lucius agreed.

He then turned slightly on the bed, an action which caused him to cry out slightly in pain.

"Lucius, do you need me to get a Healer?" Narcissa asked, her voice full of concern.

Lucius weakly nodded his head.

"Dada," Draco suddenly spoke sadly. "Dada hurt."

The baby boy then began to cry.

Even at his young age, Draco could already be as dramatic as his father.

"We need a Healer in here," Narcissa called out to the Aurors.

Narcissa then bent her head so that her mouth was close to Lucius's ear, and she said softly, "Longbottom."

Lucius nodded his head in understanding. He and Narcissa then began to soothe their son.

A few moments later, a Healer walked into the room.

Narcissa took Draco from her husband's arms, so that the Healer could check on him.

"I'm feeling that pain again," Lucius explained. "Draco, it's all right. Daddy is going to be just fine."

Narcissa began to make some silly faces while the Healer began to wave his wand over Lucius.

"Let me see if I can find the problem," the Healer spoke in a cheerful voice as he also made some silly faces.

Draco immediately began to giggle.

"I think you and your son have visited for long enough, Mrs. Malfoy," the Auror who had spoken to Narcissa just a few minutes ago said as he walked into the room.

The Auror, though, did keep his voice soft and gentle so as not to upset Draco further.

Narcissa looked at Lucius concern.

"It's all right, Narcissa," Lucius said. "I'm in good hands here. And I don't want to risk making Draco upset again. I'm sorry, Draco. Daddy didn't mean to upset you by crying out like that. I'll be fine again soon enough."

"I'll see you at your trial," Narcissa promised her husband. "I will speak on your behalf, as will many others. You'll be home again soon. I just know you will. I will be missing you every moment until you are released, Lucius."

"And I will miss you and Draco," Lucius returned. His eyes softened in concern. "Take care of yourself, Narcissa."

"I will," Narcissa promised.

She then followed the Auror out of the room.

* * *

 **Next Chapter** **: Bellatrix, Barty, Rodolphus, and Rabastan attack the Longbottoms.**


	14. Attack

Voldemort's fall and mysterious disappearance had not meant, even for a moment, that the Aurors suddenly had a break. Rumors about suspected Death Eaters had to be investigated. Arrests had to be made. The Aurors were almost as busy as they had been during the war.

It was late at night when Frank and Alice finally walked into their house to get a few hours of sleep before they returned to the Ministry to follow up on the latest leads.

The Head of the Auror Department had insisted on this as he didn't want any of his Aurors suddenly collapsing in exhaustion when they were trying to arrest a potential Death Eater who had come to the decision to fight rather than come quietly.

"I can't wait until all this is over," Alice told her husband through a yawn. "I feel like it's been forever since we've last seen Neville. I'm just glad that your mother doesn't mind watching him for us."

"Anything for two war heroes," Frank grinned at his wife, mimicking his mother.

Alice grinned back.

"Now, all we have to do is remember where our bedroom is," Frank smiled. "It's been a while since we've last used it."

Alice could not help but laugh. Her husband had always had the ability to stay upbeat no matter what he was currently going though, and that was one of the things that she had always loved about him.

The two Longbottoms began to make their way up the stairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the house, four hooded and masked figures began to make their way towards the house.

Barty pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. It didn't open.

"So, they're not complete idiots," Barty drawled. "They put up some strong locking charms."

"I wonder if their door can withstand a Blasting Curse," Bellatrix said as she pulled out her wand.

"No, don't," Barty snarled. "Do you want them to hear us?"

"Oh, stop sounding like Lucius," Bellatrix said mockingly. "One would think that you're scared of a little battle."

"There's a difference between being stupid and being scared," Barty snapped.

"Well, I like it better when they know we're coming," Bellatrix responded. "It's always more fun when they think they actually have a fighting chance, only to learn so tragically that they were wrong."

She then pointed her wand at the door. It immediately exploded into many pieces.

"I bet _you_ couldn't have done that," Bellatrix laughed at Barty. "I have trained personally with the Dark Lord. He taught me things that he had never taught anyone else. He gave me powers that he had never gave to anyone else."

"Let's just get our answers, so that we can find the Dark Lord," Barty snarled. "Then, we'll see who his favorite really is."

Bellatrix just laughed.

Rodolphus's and Rabastan's eyes, meanwhile, were gleaming with eagerness. Like Bellatrix, they couldn't wait for the action to start.

* * *

Frank and Alice had not even bothered with changing. They had just laid down in their bed in the clothes that they had been wearing.

Before they could begin to close their eyes, however, they heard the sound of something breaking downstairs.

The two Longbottoms immediately jumped out of their bed as they pulled out their wands. They then made their way out of their bedroom and down the stairs.

* * *

Bellatrix, Barty, Rodolphus, and Rabastan entered the house and began to look around.

They suddenly heard the sound of a stair creaking.

* * *

Frank swore under his breath. How could he had forgotten about the stair that creaked whenever you stepped on it at a certain spot?

Alice gently placed her hand on his arm.

* * *

The four Death Eaters shot curses in the direction that the creak had come from.

Their curses, however, struck two Shield Charms.

"You won't be able to block us forever, you filthy Blood-Traitors," Bellatrix laughed. "We are the Dark Lord's Chosen."

Frank and Alice didn't respond. Instead, they used whatever pieces of furniture that they could for cover.

Frank finally managed to shoot out a jinx.

Rodolphus wasn't able to get out of the way in time, and he was brought down.

"Rodolphus," Rabastan cried, immediately falling to his knees beside his brother's body.

Rodolphus was still conscious, but it was clear that he was in pain. His eyes, though, also burned with anger.

Bellatrix, however, completely ignored her injured husband on the floor. Instead, she and Barty raced after the Longbottoms, who were running back up the stairs in hopes of finding better cover.

Bellatrix and Barty, however, were close behind them.

* * *

On the hallway on the second floor, Frank and Alice turned to face the two Death Eaters.

Moments later, beams of light began to shoot out of all four wands at rapid speeds. No one seemed to be able to gain an advantage.

Then, Rodolphus and Rabastan were suddenly there, both of their faces reflecting their anger at the Longbottoms.

Frank and Alice continued to duel, but eventually the four against two disadvantage overwhelmed them.

Both Longbottoms were disarmed, and they were forced onto the floor.

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix shrieked.

"We don't know," Frank snarled, his eyes flashing with anger and defiance.

" _Crucio,"_ Bellatrix cried, pointing her wand at him.

Frank began to scream in pain.

Alice attempted to get to her feet so that she could physically attack Bellatrix.

" _Crucio,"_ Bellatrix cried again.

Alice fell onto the floor as she also began to scream in pain.

"You want to play, do you?" Bellatrix taunted. "Well, that's fine with me. I like to play. Where is the Dark Lord?"

"We don't know," Frank repeated, his voice a combination of anger and pain.

"Go find their son," Bellatrix snapped at her husband and brother-in-law. "Perhaps then they'll remember where our master is."

Frank and Alice allowed themselves to smile slightly at each other as Rodolphus and Rabastan began to walk down the hallway.

Their smiles were short-lived, however, as Bellatrix immediately began to torture them again.

"Let up a bit," Barty finally told Bellatrix lazily. "We want them to have enough voice left to talk."

Bellatrix gave Barty an annoyed look, but she did release the Cruciatus Curse on the two Longbottoms.

Frank and Alice gasped for breath as the two Death Eaters stood over them. They reached for the other's hand and held on tightly.

"Where are they?" Bellatrix hissed impatiently.

"We're right here," came Rodolphus's voice.

"I don't see either of you carrying a baby," Bellatrix snarled. "How hard can it possibly be to grab a baby?"

"There's no baby in this house," Rodolphus told his wife calmly.

"He must with Augusta Longbottom then," Barty spoke.

Frank and Alice looked up at Barty with wide eyes.

"Oh, yes," Barty sneered, "we're been watching you for some time. We know all about how Augusta Longbottom watches your little brat while you're at work, trying to hunt us all down. So, Frank, is it all right if I call you Frank, do you want us to pay your mother and your son a little visit? Because we will if you don't tell us where to find the Dark Lord."

"We don't know where he is," Frank snapped. He then clutched his chest in pain with his free hand.

Barty met Bellatrix's eyes. "Maybe they don't know where he is," he told her.

"Oh, they know," Bellatrix cried, her eyes crazed. "They're just trying to be little heroes by not talking. I think you're just too scared to do what it takes to find our master. What happened to you being his favorite over me?"

"I _am_ his favorite," Barty growled.

He then pointed his wand at the Longbottoms and cried, _"Crucio."_

Frank and Alice began to scream in pain.

"Where is he?" Barty shrieked. "Where is the Dark Lord?"

Frank and Alice were too busy screaming to answer.

They didn't, however, release their grip on the other's hand.

"Let up a bit so that they can speak," Bellatrix told Barty mockingly.

Barty glared at Bellatrix, but he did release the Cruciatus Curse.

"Well?" Barty drawled impatiently.

"We don't know," Frank gasped.

"Well, it's clear that _he's_ completely useless," Bellatrix said lazily. "What about you, Alice? You haven't said anything yet. Are you going to let your man speak for you forever? Don't you at least care about your son?"

"I don't know where _Voldemort_ is," Alice hissed.

"You dare," Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare to speak his name. You filthy Blood-Traitor. You disgrace to the name of everything magical."

Rodolphus and Rabastan didn't say anything, but it was clear by their eyes that they were just as angry as Bellatrix that Alice had so boldly spoken their master's name.

" _Crucio,"_ Bellatrix and the two Lestranges cried. They no longer cared about getting answers. All they cared about now was punishing the two Longbottoms for their defiance and disrespect.

Frank and Alice squeezed the other's hand.

"You're going to kill them," Barty spoke in a bored voice.

"I don't care," Bellatrix snarled. "There's still plenty of others that we can question."

Barty just shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

Frank and Alice, meanwhile, met each other's eyes. Their last thoughts were of their son Neville and how they were glad that he was with Frank's mother instead of with them.

Then, everything went dark.


	15. Maneuvers

After Narcissa had left but hours before Bellatrix, Barty, Rodolphus, and Rabastan attacked the Longbottoms, Lucius pondered what he was going to say and do next.

If he told Moody that a group of Death Eaters were planning on attacking the Longbottoms, the Aurors would be lead straight to Barty.

On the other hand, though, having information that specific could easily be considered suspicious. Over all the years that Lucius had given Fudge information, he had been careful to not give too many details. Lucius had given Fudge just enough to keep the man interested but no more.

Besides, if Lucius told Moody about the Longbottoms, there was a chance that Barty might notice an increased guard on them and decide to attack someone else. As far as Lucius was concerned, Barty was nothing more than an ungrateful brat, but there was no denying that he was intelligent. He wouldn't walk into a situation he couldn't get himself out of. As for Bellatrix and the Lestranges, well, they really didn't care who they were torturing as long as they were torturing someone.

And if the Death Eaters didn't show up to attack the Longbottoms, the Aurors would think that Lucius had lied to them (and on the one occasion when he actually wasn't lying).

No, it would be best if Lucius didn't give too many details. He just needed to say enough to ensure that Moody would check on all his fellow Aurors. There was no need to be too specific.

Now, how was Lucius going to get Moody here? Would the Auror come to check on him to make sure that he still under secure guard? Lucius hoped so. He didn't want to appear as he was desperate to give information because his life and his freedom depended on it.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Moody approached the group of Aurors that had been given the task the guarding Lucius Malfoy.

"Auror Moody," one of the Aurors greeted him respectfully.

Moody nodded his head. "Has the prisoner been giving any problems?"

"No, none," the Auror answered.

Moody frowned. Despite his words, his fellow Auror was looking nervous about something.

Moody looked at the faces of the other Aurors. They also were looking nervous about something.

"What's wrong?" Moody growled. "What happened?"

The Aurors shifted uncomfortably before the one who had greeted Moody said, "Well, um, Malfoy's wife came to visit him several hours ago."

Moody hissed in frustration. Aurors were supposed to be trained to never show signs of nervousness when they were engaging someone else, even when that other person was a more highly ranked Auror.

"Well, that's not really surprising," Moody said. "I would have expected no less out of her."

Moody didn't know how directly involved Narcissa Malfoy was in the Death Eater activities, but there was no way that she didn't at least have some idea of what her husband had been up to. And it was clear that she had no problem with that, as she would have spoken up by now if she did. Purebloods who believed in blood purity tended to be opportunistic backstabbers, after all. And there would have been no better way for Narcissa Malfoy to avoid being sent to Azkaban herself than for her to give up her husband.

"I suppose she was upset when you turned her away," Moody continued.

The Auror's response was to look even more nervous.

"You didn't turn her away," Moody snarled. "You let her visit her husband, even though I had given strict orders that Malfoy was not to have any visitors, much less his wife."

Moody looked at the Auror's young face. A newbie. Moody had wanted his more experienced Aurors being the ones making all the arrests. Newbies, however, should have been able to do the simple task of guarding an unarmed prisoner. In Moody's youth, no newbie Auror would have ever allowed a prisoner to have any visitors.

 _The Auror Department has clearly lowered its standards by a lot because of the war,_ Moody thought angrily.

"We took her wand and we kept the door open the entire time so that she couldn't try to help him escape," the Auror tried to defend himself.

"Neither of them are idiots," Moody roared. "They're not going to try anything unless they're absolute convinced that they will be able to get away with it."

Moody hoped that not all the newbies were like this. If they were, then the Auror Department was truly doomed.

And more dark wizards and witches would be allowed to roam free.

"Let me by," Moody snarled.

The Aurors were more than happy to get out of his way.

* * *

From his hospital bed, Lucius was able to hear Moody's voice. Lucius couldn't make out what Moody was saying, but it was clear that the Auror was angry about something.

Lucius resisted the temptation to get out of his bed and to go to the door in order to hear more clearly. He was supposed to be severely injured, after all. And Moody would probably be entering the room at any moment.

And indeed, the door swung open so violently that Lucius was surprised that it remained on its hinges.

Moody stormed over to Lucius's bed.

"I heard that you had a little visitor," Moody growled.

"Yes, I did, but I don't understand why you're angry at me about that," Lucius responded. "I wasn't the one who allowed her to come in here. But I did notice that all of them out there looked rather young. They must be newbies, which means that they are the future of the Auror Department. Well, if that's the case, I fear for the safety of our world. Your department must have lowered its standards severely. But what's your excuse for not doing your duty properly? You're not a newbie. Why aren't you out looking for Barty Crouch Jr. like you were told to do?"

Moody growled. So far, young Barty had proven to be elusive. No one, not even his worried mother, had seen him in several days; and he had not responded to any letters.

"I can understand why you wouldn't want any of the newbies out on the street," Lucius continued, "but all of you are doing nothing but wasting your valuable time with all these undeserved arrests and with this guard that I have been given. You all should be doing something that's actually important, like guarding all those that directly opposed the Death Eaters during the war."

"I thought you might know something important," Moody smiled unpleasantly.

"Are you trying to make a deal with me or something?" Lucius asked. "Because that doesn't sound like something you would do. Besides, I have no reason to negotiate with you. I am innocent."

"You're right, Malfoy, I don't make deals," Moody returned, "but I do care about justice. I do care about finding all dark wizards and witches."

"You haven't been able to find Barty Jr., have you," Lucius said in a matter-of-fact voice. "But what makes you think that I would know where to find him? We've never been in the same circles. His father hasn't liked me since I stopped a law that he wanted from being passed by giving a well-worded and sensible argument against it."

"Malfoy, I know how well-connected you are, and I know that you hear things," Moody responded. "You made that more than clear to both me and Crouch Sr."

Lucius really had to struggle to keep his face expressionless and to not smile. He knew where Moody was going with this. He was trying to act as if he was giving Lucius the chance to give information on the Death Eaters without having to confess to being one himself. However, Moody really intended to use whatever information Lucius gave him at his trial to prove to everyone that the accused was indeed a Death Eater.

 _People only talk about how ruthless Moody is,_ Lucius thought, _but they don't talk about his brilliance and his ability to think several steps ahead of his opponents. I feel like we're on a chessboard. Well, dear Moody, you're not going to checkmate me. I am a master at chess._

"One doesn't need to hear things in order to make a good guess about what the _actual_ Death Eaters will do next," Lucius spoke. "It's common sense that they would want to attack all those that opposed them in order to avenge their master's fall. You and all those newbie Aurors out there in the hallway are wasting your time by being here. You need to be out there, looking out for the well-being of all your supporters."

There was a brief flash of anger in Moody's eyes. A moment later, however, he turned and swept out of the room without a word.

Soon after, Lucius heard Moody telling several of the Aurors out in the hallway to come with him.

* * *

Now that he was alone in the room, Lucius allowed himself to smile. Moody had taken the bait. Lucius had really left him with no other choice.

Lucius just hoped, though, that the little information that he had given would be enough for Moody or for one the other Aurors to catch Barty attacking the Longbottoms.


	16. Battle

Moody had already been concerned about the safety of his fellow Aurors and Phoenix members before Lucius Malfoy had told him that he should be concentrating all his efforts on protecting them. As Malfoy had said, it was common sense that the Death Eaters would want to go after those that had opposed them during the war.

At the same time, though, Moody had no doubt that Malfoy knew a lot more than he had told. Malfoy, however, had not fallen for Moody's cleverly lain trap.

 _Clever bastard,_ Moody thought angrily.

* * *

Moody looked up ahead, and he caught sight of Frank's and Alice's house.

Moody knew that the Longbottoms had been home for less than an hour and that they were both highly capable and skilled Aurors, but he was still going to check on them. He would not rest until he was assured that _all_ of his comrades were safe.

* * *

As Moody drew closer to the house, he suddenly was able to see beams of light through one of the windows on the second floor.

"The Longbottoms are under attack," Moody roared at the two Aurors that were following him.

Moody paused just long enough to shot out a Patronus so that the Aurors elsewhere would know that they were needed immediately at the Longbottom house.

* * *

The Longbottoms had stopped screaming.

Bellatrix kicked Alice right in her face.

Alice did not respond. Instead, she just remained limp.

Bellatrix then kicked Frank right in his face, with the same lack of response.

"How boring," Bellatrix said. "They're unconscious. Typical pathetic Blood-Traitors. They can't even take a little bit of pain before passing out."

"Who are we going to go after next?" Barty asked lazily.

"Moody," Bellatrix answered with a twisted grin. "He will provide us with a lot more enjoyment and amusement. Plus, there are few closer to Dumbledore than him. And if Moody doesn't give us the answers that we seek, then we'll go after Dumbledore himself. Unless, of course, you're scared of that pathetic old man."

"Dumbledore doesn't scare me," Barty snapped.

Bellatrix just smirked at him.

* * *

The three Aurors silently made their way into the Longbottom house.

Moody somehow managed to hide his worry when he saw that the door had been completely shattered. Whoever had done that was clearly powerful and dangerous.

Their wands drawn but with no light to guide their way (every decent Auror was trained to find their way around in the dark because light could easily give them away to the enemy), the Aurors began to silently go up the staircase.

Then, one of the stairs creaked under Moody's foot.

 _Bloody stair,_ the Auror thought angrily.

* * *

Barty heard the creak.

"We have company," he said, pointing his wand in the direction of the stairs.

Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan stepped over Frank's and Alice's unconscious bodies as they also pointed their wands towards the stairs.

Even in the darkness, the four Death Eaters instantly recognized the figure in the lead as being Moody.

"I just love it when prey comes straight to me," Bellatrix giggled softly.

* * *

Even in the darkness, the Aurors had no problem with spotting the four figures up ahead of them.

The Aurors also had no problem with seeing the masks.

* * *

Without warning, beams of light began to shoot out of everyone's wand.

Moody growled. There was four Death Eaters against him and the other two Aurors. Usually that wouldn't matter, but two of the Death Eaters were extremely good duellists.

"Back downstairs," Moody ordered.

It would be easier for them to duel on even ground. As long as they were on the stairs, they would have to worry about accidently tripping and falling down them.

The Aurors kept their backs away from the Death Eaters as they made their way down the stairs as quickly but also as carefully as possible.

One of the Death Eaters laughed. It was clearly a woman's laugh.

"Oh, look, they want to run," the woman then spoke. "They want to play a little game of hide-and-seek."

Now downstairs, the Aurors used both Shield Charms and various pieces of furniture for cover.

Moody shot out several deadly curses in quick succession.

The four Death Eaters were forced to conjure Shield Charms of their own.

Now that they were on even ground, it was time for the Aurors to put more pressure on the Death Eaters.

Aurors trained hard to be the best duellists in the world, and it was time to show that.

It quickly became clear, however, that the Death Eaters were just as eager to show their duelling skills as the Aurors were.

 _When are the others going to get here?_ Moody though as he ducked a practically nasty curse.

As if on cue, several Aurors stormed into the house, which was now filled with destroyed pieces of furniture.

Moody shot out a curse. It hit one of the Death Eaters, who immediately crumbled to the floor.

"Cover me," Moody roared at two Aurors behind him.

Moody then approached the unconscious Death Eater and conjured chains out of his wand, securely binding the masked figure.

One of the other Death Eaters, who was locked in a duel with another Auror, caught sight of what had happened to his comrade.

The Death Eater took his eyes off his opponent just long enough for the Auror to disarm him. Moments later, the Death Eater was bound in chains as well.

"Rodolphus," the bound but still conscious Death Eater cried. "Rodolphus."

Rodolphus. There was only one Rodolphus that Moody knew of, and that was Rodolphus Lestrange.

 _The other one must be his brother, Rabastan,_ Moody thought _,_ a _nd the woman must be Bellatrix Lestrange. But who's the fourth Death Eater?_

The two remaining Death Eaters saw what had happened to their comrades. But instead of surrendering, both fought even harder.

An Auror was suddenly brought down by a curse.

 _He's all right,_ Moody though. _He has to be all right._

Moody, however, did not allow himself to be distracted. There was still two Death Eaters that needed to be brought down.

* * *

Eventually, the number of Aurors overwhelmed the two Death Eaters. Both were disarmed and bound in chains.

"You filth," Bellatrix shrieked. "You filth, let me go."

Moody ignored her. Instead, he turned to the unknown Death Eater, who squirmed in an attempt to keep himself from being unmasked. His efforts, however, were not successful.

Moody and all the Aurors in the room gasped when they saw who exactly the fourth Death Eater was.

It was Barty Crouch Jr.

It was one rumor that Moody wished had not proven to be true.

Barty looked at all of them with a nervous expression on his young face.

"This isn't what it looks like," he said quickly. "I can explain."

"Are you acting under the influence of the Imperius Curse?" Moody asked mockingly now that he had somewhat recovered from his shock.

Barty didn't reply. He just looked up at Moody with terrified eyes.

"For all your tough words, you're nothing more than a weak and pathetic little boy," Bellatrix shrieked at Barty. "Are you going to go crying for Daddy now? Well, are you, little baby?"

Barty didn't answer Bellatrix. He didn't even look at her.

Moody, meanwhile, turned to look at the group of Aurors that had gathered around their injured comrade.

"How is he?" Moody asked.

"He's still conscious," one of the Aurors answered, "but he definitely needs to get to St. Mungo's as quickly as possible."

"Take him there," Moody responded. "We'll join you there shortly."

Moody turned back to Barty.

"Where are the Longbottoms?" Moody growled. "What have you done to them?"

"They're upstairs," Barty said weakly, licking his lips nervously.

"They're a very lovely sight to see," Bellatrix added with a smirk.

Moody used his wand to conjure a gag in Bellatrix's mouth.

Bellatrix glared angrily at him, but he paid her no more mind. Instead, he walked right past her (acting as if she was not there) and made his way up the stairs, followed by two Aurors.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find the two limp, unmoving bodies.

The fact that Frank and Alice were holding each other's hand only made things worse instead of better or more comforting.

"Frank, Alice," Moody gasped as he bent down to check their pulses.

They were alive, but it clear that they were not in good condition.

Moody's eyes burned with both grief and anger.

Frank and Alice were more than just fellow Aurors and Phoenix members. They were also very close friends.

In a loud voice so that the Aurors downstairs could hear him, Moody yelled, "Get those filth out of here! Take them straight to Azkaban!"


	17. Aftermath 1

Lucius immediately woke up when he felt a presence near him.

He turned to look. There was a Healer, a woman, right beside his hospital bed.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I'm so sorry," the Healer spoke. "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just here to check on your vital signs."

"It's all right," Lucius responded. "I've been having problems with sleeping lately anyways."

Lucius then gave the Healer a somewhat sheepish glance. "I've been suffering from nightmares."

"Would you like some Potion for Dreamless Sleep?" the Healer asked sympathetically, not looking at him mockingly at all.

"No, it doesn't help," Lucius answered. "The nightmares still haunt my sleep."

The Healer's eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly composed herself.

"What kind of nightmares have you been having?" she inquired.

"I can't quite explain them," Lucius replied. "There are a lot of blank spots. The only thing that I can really remember is this cold, cruel voice telling me to do horrible things."

"What kind of horrible things?" the Healer asked gently.

"I don't want to speak of them," Lucius cried. He then calmed himself. "They're just nightmares. They mean nothing."

"Nightmares that a Potion for Dreamless Sleep can't seem to stop," the Healer said softly.

There was suddenly the sound of loud noises coming from the hallway.

"I wonder what's going on out there," Lucius said, "but it sounds like they are in need of some assistance."

"I'll be right back," the Healer promised.

"Take your time," Lucius insisted. "I'll be fine for a few minutes."

The Healer nodded her head and made her way out of Lucius's room.

* * *

"Well?" Moody growled at the Healers tending to the two unconscious Longbottoms. "Are they going to be all right?"

"We won't know for sure until they wake," one of the Healers, a man, answered calmly, "but their brains have definitely suffered severe damage."

"What exactly does that mean?" Moody pressed.

"I don't know for sure," the Healer admitted. "It's been a while since I've seen brain damage this severe. All that is clear at the moment is that they were under the Cruciatus Curse for quite a while."

That didn't sound good at all for either Frank or Alice.

Moody had to struggle to keep his face composed and emotionless.

"Do what you can for them," he growled.

* * *

The Healer that had been tending to Lucius walked back into his room.

"What's going on?" Lucius inquired. "Is everything all right out there?"

"No, it isn't," the Healer answered. "Frank and Alice Longbottom have just been brought in."

"What happened to them?" Lucius asked in concern.

The Healer didn't hesitate in answering. This was Lucius Malfoy after all, a wealthy and influential wizard who donated generous amounts of money to the hospital on a regular basis. No one wanted to risk making him unhappy by refusing to answer one of his questions. Besides, it was all going to be in the _Daily Prophet_ soon anyways. There was no way that it wouldn't be.

"They were attacked by a group of Death Eaters," the Healer explained. "They were held under the Cruciatus Curse for who knows how long. It doesn't look good for either of them."

"That's horrible," Lucius breathed.

"I know," the Healer responded. "Were the Longbottoms friends of yours?"

"No, not practically,' Lucius responded, "but I know that they are a highly respectable and popular couple in our society. Were the bastards whom attacked them caught?"

"All four of them," the Healer confirmed. She hesitated for a moment before taking several steps closer to Lucius.

Then, in a quieter voice, she said, "From what I've heard, Barty Crouch Sr.'s son was one of the Death Eaters captured."

"Surely that's not possible," Lucius gasped. "Everyone that I know has always spoken highly of the Crouch boy."

Lucius was then silent for a moment, as if in thought. Then, he said, "From what I've heard of the boy, I never would have thought that he would take after his father. I mean, his father is the reason why I'm here right now."

The Healer laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Do you by any chance know the identities of the other three Death Eaters?" Lucius asked.

The Healer looked at Lucius sad eyes.

"Please, tell me," Lucius said gently.

"It's horrible," the Healer spoke. "I'm so sorry for both you and your wife. The other Death Eaters were your wife's sister, her husband, and her husband's brother."

"Narcissa will be devastated," Lucius breathed. "She and Bellatrix have never been practically close, but family has always been important to my wife."

"So many families have been broken tonight," the Healer remarked.

"And to think, people said that the war was over," Lucius responded.

The Healer pulled out her wand. "I'm going to do a few tests on your brain."

"For what?"

"To test a theory. Don't worry, it won't hurt, and I will do it as quickly as possible."

Lucius sat still as the Healer circled his head with her wand.

"Just as I thought," she said. "Your memories have been modified."

"What?" Lucius exclaimed in disbelief.

Inwardly, he was smirking. He had made sure to do some "modifying" of his memory on the night that the Dark Lord had seemingly been defeated.

"I need to talk with my colleagues," the Healer spoke. "For now, I'll see if I can find you a stronger and more potent Potion for Dreamless Sleep, so that you can at least get some rest."

The Healer then turned and left the room.

* * *

Moody approached Crouch Sr.'s office.

It was late, but Moody knew Crouch well enough to know that the man was probably still working.

Plus, Moody wanted to tell Crouch the news about his son before he heard about it from people that didn't approve of him and would just use the news to torment him further.

Moody knocked on Crouch's office door.

"Enter," came Crouch's voice from the opposite side.

Moody turned the doorknob and stepped into the room.

"Oh, Moody, I hope you're here with good news," Crouch spoke. "Have you found my son?"

"I have," Moody said. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I truly wish I had better news to report than this, but I caught your son earlier tonight at the Longbottom house with a group of Death Eaters. Frank and Alice are currently at St. Mungo's, along with another Auror that were injured during the arrest."

For several moments, all Crouch did was stare at Moody as if the Auror was some sort of foreign creature. He didn't even blink.

But Moody couldn't help but notice that Crouch's face had gone slightly pale.

"Leave me," Crouch finally hissed.

Moody turned to leave.

"The Longbottoms," Crouch suddenly spoke, stopping Moody in his tracks. "How are they?"

Moody turned to face Crouch. "It doesn't look good for either of them. They both suffered severe brain damage from the prolonged use of the Cruciatus Curse. The Healers don't know yet just how bad the damage is, but they did say that Frank and Alice are definitely never going to be the same."

Crouch's face went even paler. He suddenly looked very old and weary.

Moody once again turned to leave. This time, he was not stopped by Crouch.

* * *

Narcissa was attempting to sleep in her bed, but it was hard without Lucius beside her.

 _You should be use to this by now,_ Narcissa thought to herself. _How many times has Lucius been gone at night because he was doing some sort of mission for the Dark Lord? How many times has Lucius been in danger because of his servitude to the Dark Lord?_

It should be different now that the Dark Lord was gone. But it wasn't. Lucius's side of the bed was still empty, and he was still in potential danger.

Narcissa suddenly heard the alarms at the gates going off.

Her eyes wide, she immediately slid out of her bed and pulled a robe over her nightdress.

Narcissa, however, did not go directly to the gates. Instead, she went first to Draco's room, who had been woken up by all the noise.

Fortunately, though, he wasn't crying. He was just sitting quietly in his crib.

Narcissa picked Draco up and held him close to her chest as she made her way towards the gates, where she was greeted by the sight of several Aurors.

Narcissa felt something catch in her throat. Had Crouch found a way to send Lucius to Azkaban before his trial? Was there still going to be a trial?

"Is something wrong?" Narcissa asked in a very formal voice, not betraying anything.

"As one of the closest kin to Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange," one of the Aurors spoke, "we are here to inform you of their arrest."

"For what?" Narcissa gasped.

"For being Death Eaters," the Auror answered simply.

Narcissa stared at them for several moments in stunned silence.

"That can't be possible," Narcissa finally said.

"They were caught at the scene of an assault," the Auror responded. "There is no doubt of their guilt."

Narcissa just shook her head, as if she was finding it hard to fully process all this information.

"We are sorry to bring you this news, Mrs. Malfoy," the Auror spoke, "but as one of the closet kin, you have the right to know."

 _I wasn't aware that any of us had any rights,_ Narcissa though sarcastically.

"Have my parents been informed yet?" she asked in a choked voice, her face not showing any of the bitter sarcasm that she was feeling in the inside.

"Yes, they have," the Auror said.

Narcissa just nodded her head, acting as if she was still in shock over everything that she had just been told.

The Auror gave her one final nod in return before Disapparating along with the rest of his comrades.

* * *

So, Bella had been captured. Even though Narcissa knew of Lucius's intentions to lead the Aurors to Barty, it was still hard for Narcissa to process the fact that her sister had actually been captured. Bella had always seemed larger-than-life to her, incapable of ever being defeated by anyone.

But had been Barty been captured as well? The whole point of Lucius's plans had been for Barty to be exposed. If the truth about Barty was not known, then nothing had been accomplished.

Narcissa needed to know the status on Barty.

"Eva, Giles," she muttered to herself. "They will tell me what they know with no problem. They will know about Barty."

Narcissa, holding a still uncharacteristically quiet Draco close to her chest (he always had been a very perceptive baby), Disapparated.


	18. Aftermath 2

Narcissa entered the Wizengamot's administrative headquarters in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Despite the late hour, the room was still full of people working on various pieces of paperwork.

Narcissa quickly caught sight of Eva.

"Hello, Narcissa," Eva greeted politely, even though her eyes showed how tired she was. When she caught sight of Draco, however, her eyes quickly went bright with happiness.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Eva asked as she began to fuss over Draco. "You're such a handsome little boy."

Draco gave Eva his most charming smile.

Eva then motioned for Narcissa to take a seat.

"Rest your arms," Eva said. "I know from personal experience that babies are heavier than they look."

"How was your son's birthday?" Narcissa asked in interest.

"He missed having me there, but his father made sure that he had a very memorable party," Eva answered. "He really liked the present that you and Lucius got him."

"And Draco," Narcissa added, nodding her head at her son, who she was now slightly bouncing on her lap.

Draco nodded his head, as if in agreement.

Narcissa and Eva both laughed.

The mood, however, quickly turned serious.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Eva asked.

"I have just been informed that my sister, her husband, and his brother have been arrested for being Death Eaters," Narcissa said. "I was wondering if you would be able to provide me with more information. But only if you're allowed to, of course."

Eva waved aside Narcissa's concern. Narcissa, after all, was Lucius's wife.

"Everything is going to be in the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow anyways," Eva said. "Your sister, her husband, and his brother were caught in the Longbottom house after they had tortured Frank and Alice for an extensive period of time. Frank and Alice are at St. Mungo's now, and it isn't looking good for either of them."

"That's horrible," Narcissa breathed. "I never had the chance to really get to know the Longbottoms, but from what I've heard, they were good and kind people."

Narcissa then shifted in her chair, as if uncomfortable. "It pains me even more to know that my own family was responsible."

"And that's not the worst of it," Eva spoke. "There was a fourth Death Eater with them."

Eva paused for a moment before revealing the name. "Barty Crouch Jr."

"Surely not," Narcissa gasped. "Everyone that I know has always spoken so highly of the boy. Young Barty being a Death Eater is completely unbelievable, especially considering what his father does for a living."

Eva's eyes suddenly gleamed. "Crouch Sr. hasn't left his office yet tonight, but from what I've heard, he hasn't taken the news well at all. He's believed to be in a state of shock. His own son, a Death Eater. That is going to ruin him completely, and I will enjoy watching him fall from grace."

Eva's eyes then softened slightly. "I do feel sorry for Crouch's wife, though. She's a lady in every definition of the word, and I have never seen her be anything but sweet and generous to everyone. Plus, I know that she truly loves her son. I guess she wanted to make up for his father, who's always been too busy with his work to pay much attention to even his own family. I remember all the times Mrs. Crouch talked to me about how her son was doing so wonderful at Hogwarts and how he was always getting the highest marks in his classes, and all the times I saw him, he was always so polite and well-mannered. But there had been rumors about him recently, and most of the rumors around here actually do have some degree of truth to them."

"The _Daily Prophet_ is going to have a field day with this," Narcissa remarked.

"Yes, it is," Eva agreed. "If Crouch wasn't such a bastard, I might actually feel sorry for him. But I can't find it in my heart to feel any pity for him."

"Nor can I," Narcissa responded, "especially after he had my husband unjustly arrested and then injured him."

"How is Lucius doing?" Eva asked in concern.

"He's in a lot of pain, but he's trying his best to stay strong and positive," Narcissa answered. "I do know, though, that he can't wait for his trial to be over with so that he can return home."

Narcissa shook her head. "Crouch hasn't liked my husband since Lucius kept a law he wanted from being passed, despite the fact that Lucius had made many good and reasonable arguments against it. I now fear that Crouch is going to try to get people to believe that Lucius had something to do with the Crouch boy's assault of the Longbottoms, especially since my sister was there as well. But I can say with absolute sincerity that Lucius and Bella only tolerated each other for my sake."

"And there are many here at the Ministry that can say with absolute sincerity that Lucius is of good character," Eva responded. "Try not to worry, Narcissa. There's no way that the charges against Lucius will be able to stick. I have looked at all the information that Crouch and the Aurors have on him, and they have nothing that even remotely links Lucius to any Death Eater activities."

"I know," Narcissa said, nodding her head, "but I've always been a big worrier. And hearing this news about Bella has only made my nerves even worse."

Eva placed a soothing hand on Narcissa's arm.

"But I know as hard as this news is for me, it's just as hard if not harder for my parents," Narcissa spoke. "I should go see them and make sure that they're doing all right. Thank you for taking this time to speak with me, Eva. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Narcissa," Eva responded. "Take care of yourself. And tell your parents to take care of themselves as well. I will be thinking of all of you."

Narcissa smiled her appreciation at the other woman before getting up and leaving the room.

* * *

Frank and Alice were still unconscious, and the Healers still could not tell Moody the full extent of their brain damage.

Moody growled in both frustration and worry as he made his way out of the Longbottoms' hospital room.

He soon found himself outside of Lucius Malfoy's room.

Malfoy. He had to have known of the plan to attack Frank and Alice.

Moody slammed open the door and made his way into the room.

Lucius, however, was not alone. A Healer, a woman, was standing right beside his bed, a glass of Potion for Dreamless Sleep in her hand.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Healer asked angrily. "Mr. Malfoy here needs his rest."

"Having problems with sleeping peacefully, Malfoy?" Moody sneered, his voice a combination of anger and mockery. "Is there something troubling you? Is there something you would like to tell me?"

"It's the nightmares," Lucius responded. "They're all so horrible. I want to just forget them, but I can't."

"His memory has been modified," the Healer spoke.

Moody looked at the Healer in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," the Healer snapped, clearly insulted. "I do know how to detect when someone's brain have been tampered with."

"My apologies," Moody responded.

"Now, I mean no disrespect at all, Auror Moody," the Healer then spoke. "I know that you're just doing your job. But I'm trying to do my job as well, and at the moment that means trying to help Mr. Malfoy to get some sleep free of nightmares."

That was not what Moody wanted to hear, but he knew that it would not help his department, the Ministry, or the case against Lucius if it came out (and Lucius would find a way to make sure that it came out) that an Auror had been harassing a Healer and one of her patients while she was trying to give that patient treatment.

"May I question him tomorrow morning?" Moody asked in his most polite voice.

The Healer looked at Lucius for confirmation.

"That will be fine with me," Lucius said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Auror Moody."

Just like Moody had, Lucius spoke in his most polite voice.

Moody just nodded his head at Lucius before turning to leave the room.

"Here," the Healer said, handing the glass of Potion for Dreamless Sleep to Lucius, "I hope this helps."

"Thank you," Lucius smiled appreciatively as he settled into a more comfortable position on his bed.

The Healer then left the room.

* * *

As soon as he was alone, Lucius began to look around the room for somewhere to pour the potion where it wouldn't be noticed.

He didn't want to be in so deep of a sleep that he wouldn't be able to wake up quickly if it proved necessary.

Besides, it would show that his brain had indeed been severely tampered with if he still had nightmares even after taking a very strong and potent dose of Potion for Dreamless Sleep.


	19. Aftermath 3

Draco was asleep by the time that Narcissa had Apparated in front of her childhood home.

A house-elf came to escort Narcissa to her parents, who were sitting around the grand table in the dining room and drinking tea.

"Narcissa," Cygnus Black (sitting at the head of the table) greeted his daughter in a very formal voice.

"Father," Narcissa returned, her voice just as formal.

Narcissa and her mother, Druella Black, then exchanged similar formal greetings, even though Druella did call Narcissa "Cissy."

Neither Cygnus nor Druella asked to hold Draco, but (along with some tea for his daughter) Cygnus did have the house-elf bring a crib for Narcissa to lie her son in.

Narcissa immediately recognized the crib as being the Black family crib, the one that had been used by every Black baby for countless generations.

The crib had been Narcissa's crib when she had been a baby.

The crib had also been used by both Bella and Andromeda when they had been babies.

Bella. Andromeda. Both names pained Narcissa and not really for different reasons. She may had lost them in different ways, but she had lost both of them.

And she had lost both of them because of the fight for blood purity.

Not that Narcissa would ever stop being proud of her blood, of course. She had sacrificed too much to not be proud of it.

As had Lucius and Bella.

Oh, Lucius. If he ended up in Azkaban along with Bella, Narcissa would truly be broken.

 _No, Lucius is not going to end up in Azkaban,_ Narcissa thought to herself. _He's going to be back home very soon, and we are going to raise Draco together. And we are going to give Draco a happier childhood than either of us had._

"It is good to see you again, Cissy," Druella spoke, interrupting Narcissa's thoughts.

"I am sorry for coming so late, but I thought you two would probably still be awake," Narcissa said. "I only wish I was here for a happier reason."

"It will be a while before Cygnus and I will be able to show our faces in public again," Druella cried, acting as if she had not heard a single word that Narcissa had just said. "Where did I go so wrong with my daughters? They are constantly disgracing this family."

For a moment, Narcissa looked at her mother in surprise. Druella had not referred to Andromeda by name, but she had referred to her, even if it had been just an indirect reference.

Druella always acted as if she had never had a middle daughter, unless, of course, she was very angry about something. Then, Druella had no problem with making it even more clear (just in case it wasn't clear enough already) just how disgusted she was by Andromeda.

Narcissa, however, was also surprised by her mother's outburst for another reason.

"Surely you don't consider Bella serving the Dark Lord to be a disgrace," Narcissa said. "I thought you supported his views."

"He is gone now," Druella returned. "There is no longer any honour in being associated to him in any way. Oh, the name Black has lost almost all its prestige. Two Blood-Traitors. One dead. One now in Azkaban and as good as dead. And you will soon add further disgrace to this family, Cissy, when Lucius is sent to Azkaban. You are a reflection of your husband, after all."

"I can't believe you are speaking of Lucius that way," Narcissa snarled. "You have always held high regard for him, and you have always told me to be honoured that the Malfoys would want to be so directly linked to our family."

"Getting sent to Azkaban is disgraceful," Druella responded.

"Lucius is not going to be sent to Azkaban," Narcissa snapped. "If he was here, you wouldn't be speaking of him this way. To Bella's face perhaps you would tell her that she was a disgrace, but you would never say that to Lucius's face."

Narcissa had to resist the temptation to slam her cup of tea onto the table. No matter what, she would be proper.

Instead, Narcissa delicately placed her cup of tea onto the table before getting up and walking over to the crib to grab Draco, who (fortunately) did not wake up.

"I think I will be returning home now," Narcissa said, her voice not betraying any emotion.

"Do you want us to watch Draco during Lucius's trial?" Cygnus asked.

Narcissa felt a huge wave of affection for her father. She knew that he was just trying to be diplomatic, but she still appreciated his offer, especially considering that Cygnus had rarely shown any signs of affection for any of his daughters while they had been children.

"Yes, thank you, I would appreciate that a lot, and I know that Lucius would say the same if he was here," Narcissa spoke. "Goodnight, Father. Goodnight, Mother."

* * *

"I received your letter that they're awake," Moody said.

The Healer, a man, just nodded his head. He looked very uncomfortable.

That was enough to tell Moody that Frank's and Alice's condition was worse than even he had imagined.

"Would you like to see them?" the Healer asked.

"Yes," Moody said simply, determined to maintain his composure.

"They are going to live," the Healer spoke in a very professional voice, also determined to maintain his composure.

The two made their way into the Longbottoms' hospital room.

Frank and Alice were both sitting on their beds.

At first glance, both Longbottoms appeared to be perfectly fine and normal.

Then, they turned to look at Moody and the Healer.

Frank and Alice looked at Moody with blank eyes.

 _It's almost as if they don't recognize me,_ Moody thought in horror.

Alice opened her mouth, as if to say something, but all that came out was unintelligible noises.

"They can't speak," Moody growled at the Healer.

"We have tried to get them to talk, but all they do is just stare at us or make those noises," the Healer responded. "I don't think they really understand what we're saying."

Moody looked at both Longbottoms for several long moments.

 _Unable to talk,_ Moody thought. _Unable to understand what is being said to them. Unable to recognize a colleague. They probably wouldn't be able to recognize a family member either._

Moody knew it sounded cold, but he couldn't help thinking that death would have been a more merciful fate for the Longbottoms.

Moody knew with absolute certainty that Frank and Alice would never want to live like this.

"Has their family already been informed of this?" Moody asked the Healer, his voice professional.

"Augusta Longbottom, Frank Longbottom's mother, has been here since last night with their son Neville," the Healer responded. "She arrived shortly after you had left. She's currently on the fifth floor at the Visitors' Tearoom."

"Is there any chance that their conditions will improve?" Moody asked next, his voice still professional.

"We will try our best to help them to get better," the Healer answered, "but it probably will be a while before we see any signs of improvement."

Moody just nodded his head, struggling to keep his anger under control. He then turned and left the room.

* * *

Lucius closely read the main article on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_.

To no surprise, it was all about the attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom and the four Death Eaters whom had been arrested.

Also to no surprise, there was a huge focus on Barty Crouch. Jr., along with gossip about whether or not his father would support or condemn him for his crimes.

 _No matter what you do, Crouch, you're ruined,_ Lucius thought smugly. _If you refuse to punish your son for his crimes, you will be accused of favoritism. However, if you do punish him, you will be accused of being a harsh, unsympathetic father. Either way, you're a horrible father, and people will doubt your ability to lead the entire British Wizarding World as our next Minister, especially considering that your own son became a Death Eater right under your nose._

Lucius happily placed the newspaper on the small table next to his bed. He then reached for his breakfast tray, which was still warm, and began to eat.

Lucius had only taken a few bits, however, when the door suddenly slammed open.

"It sounds like you slept even worse than I did last night, Auror Moody," Lucius remarked as he placed his tray back onto the table.

Moody growled as he made his way straight to Lucius's bed.

"I would control your temper if I was you," Lucius said. "My Healer isn't that far away, and she's very protective of me, as you should already know."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Malfoy, no matter how much you deserve it," Moody snarled.

"Are you a member of the court along with being an Auror?" Lucius asked. "It is not up to you to determine who deserves what. No, the Wizengamot will determine my fate, not you."

"But I will be able to testify at your trial," Moody responded, "and I will make sure that the Wizengamot knows that you could have prevented what happened to the Longbottoms."

"How could I have done that?" Lucius asked in confusion.

"You knew that your colleagues were going to attack them," Moody hissed, gesturing at the _Daily Prophet_.

"How could I have known what they were going to do?" Lucius pressed.

"You didn't have any nightmares about it," Moody sneered.

"No, my nightmares are still very unclear," Lucius responded, "but as soon as I am able to make more sense out of them, I will let you know."

Moody took several breaths to calm himself. "Well, let me tell you something that should be clear to you at this moment. Two of the Death Eaters that attacked the Longbottoms are your in-laws, and a third one is the brother to one of them."

"They may be family, but I have never been close to them," Lucius replied. "I don't know their business any more than they know mine. Besides, do you really think they cared who they attacked? Let's say you had known that the Longbottoms were going to be targeted. What would you have done? You would have probably placed a guard on them. Now, I know that you Aurors are good at hiding in the shadows, but so are the Death Eaters. It is not beyond possibility that one of the Aurors could have been spotted, and if that had happened, then the Death Eaters would have just turned around and went after someone else."

"You always know the right words to say, don't you," Moody growled. "You know how to say that you know how Death Eaters think without having to admit to being one yourself."

"But surely nothing I said came as any surprise to you," Lucius returned, looking over Moody's shoulder in a subtle fashion. "You are an Auror. Your job is to hunt down dark wizards and witches, and to do that you have to know how they think. Plus, you are a Pureblood, as am I. We both know how Purebloods think. I have not said anything that's not common sense to either of us."

"You and your common sense again," Moody growled, stepping even closer to Lucius's bed.

"Are you harassing Mr. Malfoy again?" came a woman's angry voice. "Now, I really do understand and appreciate that you're just doing your job, Auror Moody, but this is starting to get ridiculous."

It was the Healer from the night before.

"It's all right," Lucius said to the Healer. "Auror Moody was just trying to see if I could help him in his investigation of the Longbottom attack."

"I don't understand," the Healer spoke in a confused voice. "How could you possibly know anything about that awful event?"

"Because three of the Death Eaters are, much to my disgust, close family," Lucius answered, "and any decent Auror makes sure to interview all family members of a suspect."

Lucius then turned to Moody and said in his most polite voice, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, not at the moment," Moody growled before sweeping out of the room.

* * *

As he was walking down the hallway, Moody could hear that the Healer was asking Malfoy if he was all right.

Moody didn't need to hear Malfoy's response to know that he was probably telling the Healer about how he was being put through things he didn't deserve, but he was trying to handle it with as much dignity and grace as possible. He was, after all, an innocent man; and he had no doubt that would be proven at his trial. Malfoy, therefore, saw no reason in getting angry at Moody or any of the other Aurors.

As much as he hated to admit it (even if only to himself), Moody feared that Lucius Malfoy was going to end up escaping justice, especially considering the negative impact that Barty Crouch's Jr's arrest was going to have on his father's authority and power in the Wizengamot and in the Wizarding World as a whole.

It was time for more drastic actions to be taken.


	20. Imperius

"We're sorry, Mrs. Malfoy, but you can't see your husband," the Auror told Narcissa in a polite but firm voice.

"You let me see him the last time I was here," Narcissa reminded him.

The Auror noticeably winced, as did all the other Aurors behind him.

 _They must have all received a very nasty lecture from Moody,_ Narcissa thought with a high degree of amusement.

"Yes, we did," the Auror said, "but Auror Moody found out about that, and he made it very clear to us that we were not to let you by again."

The Auror did not say it, but the look he was giving Narcissa was clearly saying, _Please, don't get any of us in any more trouble. Please, just do what we say._

Narcissa looked at all the Aurors' faces. They all looked so young.

 _Newbies aren't the same way that they used to be,_ Narcissa couldn't help thinking. _The war clearly caused the Auror Department to severely lower its standards._

"Well, I don't want to get any of you in trouble," Narcissa said in her sweetest voice. "Could you at least tell me, though, how my husband is doing?"

"Mrs. Malfoy," came a woman's voice.

Narcissa looked and saw that a Healer was coming her way.

The Aurors moved out of the way for the woman.

"Come, Mrs. Malfoy," the Healer spoke, "let's talk somewhere more private."

The Healer turned to the Aurors. "Unless, of course, Auror Moody would like to be kept up-to-date on Mr. Malfoy's health, even though he has not yet said anything about that to any of us."

"He hasn't asked us to keep him informed either," the Auror in the front responded, "but just in case, keep Mr. Malfoy's files where they can be easily retrieved."

"I will do that," the Healer returned. She then turned to Narcissa.

* * *

The two women made their way down the hallway.

Draco's traveling bed floated right beside his mother.

Narcissa had decided not to carry Draco this time because she had a few places to stop by after she was done at St. Mungo's. In Lucius's absence, it was Narcissa's job to make sure that all of her husband's businesses were running smoothly. Draco was much too small to act as the head of the household, and Narcissa didn't want Abraxas thinking that he could take back over Lucius's spot as being the Malfoy patriarch (not even for just a few days).

Besides, Draco loved being in his floating bed. Being up in the air had never troubled him.

Of course, Narcissa had made sure to put spells around the bed to keep her son from trying to climb out of it.

"I was actually on my way to Malfoy Manor to speak with you," the Healer told Narcissa. "Your husband wanted me to tell you personally how he is doing."

Narcissa looked at the Healer, waiting for her to continue.

"Your husband's memory has been modified," the Healer began.

"Oh, my," Narcissa gasped in horror.

Inwardly, though, she was smirking. She had been there when her husband had "modified" his memory.

"As a result," the Healer continued, "he has several blanks in his memory. There are things he can't remember, important things."

The Healer hesitated a moment before saying, "Mrs. Malfoy, have you anytime during the war noticed that your husband was not acting quite like himself?"

"Well, Lucius did become more distant than what was normal for him," Narcissa answered in her most innocent, naïve voice. "He often left the manor during the middle of the night, but I never really thought much about it because he likes to go for walks sometimes. Lucius is a very free spirit."

Narcissa allowed herself a slight smile before continuing her narrative in her most naïve, foolish woman voice. "I also noticed that Lucius didn't like talking about the war. Seeing all those awful headlines in the _Daily Prophet_ really made him upset. I didn't think much of it, though, because those headlines made me upset as well. All those murders, tortures, and disappearances were just awful. I know that Lucius was just as relieved as I was when we found out that You-Know-Who had disappeared."

The Healer nodded her head. "Your words have helped to confirm my suspicions, Mrs. Malfoy. I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I believe that the Imperius Curse has been used on your husband."

"The Imperius Curse," Narcissa gasped in disbelief. She then turned away from the Healer as if in shock.

"But then," Narcissa said a few moment later, her voice full of horror, "that could mean that Lucius might have possibly done all those horrible things that he's been accused of doing."

"That thought horrified your husband as well when I told him of my suspicions," the Healer responded gently, placing a sympathetic hand on Narcissa's arm, "but I'm going to tell you what I told him. It wasn't his fault. He can't be held accountable. The Imperius Curse is an awful thing. It forces people to do things that they usually would not even dream of doing. Some may be able to resist it for a while, but eventually the Imperius Curse will break down all your resistance and will-power. You can't help what you do under its influence."

"That's why Lucius has been having problems with sleeping lately," Narcissa spoke in a tortured voice. "His nightmares have been troubling him so much."

"I know," the Healer replied, her voice even more gentle.

"It won't matter now if Lucius is found innocent," Narcissa spoke, as if she had not heard the Healer. "He will have to live the rest of his life with the knowledge of all those horrible things that he had done, even though he did none of it willingly."

"That is true," the Healer responded, "but we will make sure that he receives the best care possible. With treatment and time, he will slowly be able to return to normal. He probably will continue to have nightmares for a while, but in time, they will occur less often."

The Healer hesitated for a moment before saying, "I offered to take away those memories from your husband, but he told me that he didn't want his brain being tampered with any more, which I found to be perfectly understandable."

"Of course," Narcissa responded. She then looked away from the Healer once more.

"Your husband is strong," the Healer spoke. "As long as he has your support, he will get better. You will both get better."

Narcissa just nodded her head as she looked at the Healer with a weak smile.

"I have sent a letter to some friends of your husband at his request, Giles and Eva from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, asking them to come talk with me," the Healer then said. "I will tell them of Mr. Malfoy's condition."

"I know that Giles and Eva will listen to you, but what about the rest of the Wizengamot?" Narcissa responded, her voice full of worry. "So many people have already been sent to Azkaban, and there's just no way that every single one of them is a Death Eater. I can't help but wonder how many of them were also under the influence of the Imperius Curse."

"Your husband was worried about that as well," the Healer responded, "and it's something else that I plan on talking to Giles and Eva about."

 _You've really buttered her up nicely, Lucius,_ Narcissa couldn't help thinking.

But then again, Lucius had always been a charmer, and that was one of the things that Narcissa had always loved about him.

"I appreciate you doing all that, and I know that Lucius does as well," Narcissa spoke, her face not betraying any of her inner thoughts.

"It's the least that any of us could do, especially after all that your husband has done to help this hospital," the Healer returned.

"I have taken up enough of your time," Narcissa spoke in her most graceful voice. "I know that you have lots to do. Thank you for all the information and comfort that you have given me. I feel a little better now. When you check on Lucius again, could you let him know that I was here and that I offer him my support? I want him to feel better as well."

"Of course."

Narcissa gave the Healer an appreciative smile before walking down the hallway, Draco's floating bed right beside her.

Draco giggled as his mother walked and he floated.

* * *

"You weren't gone for long," Lucius remarked as the Healer walked into his room.

"Your wife was here," the Healer explained.

"How was she doing?" Lucius asked in concern, not at all surprised by the news.

Oh, how he missed her.

"She misses you," the Healer answered, "but she appears to be holding herself together as well as can be expected."

"Did you tell her about your suspicions concerning me?" Lucius pressed.

"I did. I also told her about how I plan on contacting your friends from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That news seemed to really cheer her up."

"Thank you for doing all that for me," Lucius responded. "It makes me feel better to know that my wife is also receiving the support that she needs."

The Healer nodded her head before saying, "How are you feeling at the moment?"

"Tired, but I'm afraid to sleep," Lucius replied. "Every time I close my eyes, it's so awful."

"I'm sorry that the Potion of Dreamless Sleep didn't work," the Healer responded. "Are you sure you don't want me to take away those memories?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucius answered. "I just need some time to recover, that's all. Thank you for everything that you have done for both me and my wife."

The Healer smiled at him before saying in a gentle voice, "Try to relax for a while. You need to keep up your strength."

The Healer then walked out of the room, leaving Lucius alone.

* * *

Lucius resisted the temptation to sigh out loud as he looked around his hospital room.

He hoped that his trial was soon. He was afraid that he would go mad if he had to stay confined in this room for much longer.

At least it was daylight. The walls only seemed to close in around him when it was dark.

* * *

 **Author's Note : I didn't want Draco being in a stroller as I felt like that might be too Muggle. Think of Draco's traveling bed as resembling a baby's car seat (but less bulky and healthy and without the seat belt) with a compartment that has the Undetectable Extension Charm on it for a baby bottle, diapers, and other things that babies may need on the road. Besides, I really do believe that a baby Draco would love the idea of floating around everywhere.**

 **Additional Author's Note : In my headcanon a male Pureblood becomes the head of his household as soon as he graduates from school, even though his father usually will act as an adviser if he is still living. Male Purebloods begin to learn the various duties and responsibilities of being the head of household before they begin their official magical education at school, but their Pureblood education continues during their school years.**


	21. Azkaban

Barty Crouch Sr. looked at the two letters in front of him on his desk.

One was from St. Mungo's and one was from Azkaban.

There was a knock on his office door.

"Enter," Crouch spoke in his strongest possible voice.

The door opened and Moody walked into the room.

"Hello, Moody," Crouch greeted, sitting up straight and firm in his chair. "You always know how to show up right on time."

Moody frowned for a moment in confusion, but then he spotted the two letters.

"I can safely guess what the letter from St. Mungo's is about," Moody spoke, his voice only wavering slightly, "but I'm not quite sure about the letter from Azkaban."

"One of the prisoners wishes to talk with me," Crouch hissed.

The look on Crouch's face was enough to tell Moody exactly which prisoner he was referring to.

"Do you want me to go to Azkaban to see what this prisoner has to say?" Moody asked, making sure to keep his voice neutral.

"I can already make several guesses on what he wants to say," Crouch said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he wants to make a deal with me."

"You're made deals before with filth," Moody said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"I didn't want to do it," Crouch snapped, "but Karkaroff gave enough valuable information that the rest of the Wizengamot was willing to negotiate with him. As much as I hate to say it, many Death Eaters are in Azkaban because of him. Now, I will think of him no more, and I don't want you doing so either. There are still many Death Eaters on the loose. Perhaps one of them will take care of Karkaroff before they are caught. But this prisoner is different. This prisoner must be handled differently."

"You have never cared before what people thought of you," Moody responded, his voice calm.

"What are trying to tell me, Moody? You know that I do not care for riddles."

"I don't like any Death Eater," Moody growled. "I think they all deserve to rot. But I also think that you should treat them all the same way. No favoritism. No lack of favoritism. No making one think that they're more _special_ than all the others. Now, I will ask again. Do you want me to go to Azkaban to see what this prisoner has to say?"

Crouch looked at Moody for a long moment, his face completely emotionless, before finally saying, "Yes."

Moody nodded his head at Crouch before turning to leave the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Crouch buried his face in his hands and began to cry.

* * *

Moody didn't hate and fear Azkaban like most other people did, but it still wasn't one of his favorite places. He wasn't, after all, immune to the dementors. He did, however, believe that they were exactly what filth such as Igor Karkaroff, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, and Barty Crouch Jr. deserved.

What was Barty going to say? Was he going to claim to have been under the influence of the Imperius Curse? Was he going to offer up the names of Death Eaters that were still free?

It didn't really matter to Moody. If he had his way, Barty would stay in Azkaban for the rest of his life.

Moody was so caught up in his rage that he barely felt the dementor guiding him to Barty's cell.

Then, a distraction came in the form of Sirius Black.

Moody met the other man's eyes only briefly through the bars of his cell door before quickly looking away.

Moody had liked Sirius, despite the younger man's often mischievous, arrogant ways, because he had thought Sirius to be loyal and everything a friend ought to be.

The dementor turned to look at Moody, and the look that it gave the Auror gave him the impression that if it had the ability to smirk, it would be doing exactly that.

"Keep on moving," Moody growled.

Who would have ever thought that a dementor could have a sense of humor?

 _Stop thinking like that,_ Moody snarled to himself. _The last thing you need to do is to lose your mind here._

Moody and his dementor guide passed by Bellatrix Lestrange's cell.

"Are you here to see the little baby?" Bellatrix taunted. "He will be so disappointed when he sees that you are not his daddy. And to think, I always thought that he was a mommy's boy."

Moody ignored Bellatrix and kept on walking.

"You cannot ignore me forever!" Bellatrix shrieked angrily after him. "The Dark Lord will rise again, and he will come to free me! Then, he will go after all his enemies! That includes you!"

Moody just kept on walking, acting as if he could not hear the disgusting woman.

"Spend more time around her in the future," Moody muttered to his guide.

The dementor once again turned to look at the Auror, and once again it gave the impression that if it could smirk, it would be doing exactly that.

 _I'm really starting to lose my mind,_ Moody thought to himself. _Smirking dementors? Really, Moody? Really?_

The dementor finally stopped in front of a cell.

"Give us some space," Moody growled.

To the Auror's surprise, the dementor actually listened to him.

 _Maybe it likes me,_ Moody though. _Oh, wonderful, you really are going mad, Moody._

The Auror shook his head ever so slightly before directing his attention to the cell's occupant.

"So, what's your story going to be?" Moody asked. "Does it involve the Imperius Curse?"

Barty Crouch Jr. looked at Moody for a long moment through the bars of his cell door before finally shaking his head and saying in a weak voice, "No, it doesn't."

"Well, I can't believe it," Moody drawled, after a moment of surprise. "You have some spine after all."

"But you don't know the full story," Barty said quickly.

"Surely you're not going to try to tell me that you _accidentally_ walked into the Longbottoms' house just when the Lestranges happened to be in the middle of torturing them," Moody sneered.

Barty shook his head again.

"Did you bring me all the way out here for nothing, boy?" Moody hissed angrily, turning to leave.

"Please, I can give you names," Barty spoke.

"Ah, so it's going to be that story," Moody remarked, turning to face Barty once more.

"I know someone that you hate even more than me," Barty said. "I know someone that my father hates even more than me."

"Boy, I know of many of the stories that people tell about me," Moody responded in an annoyed voice, "but let me correct you on one point. I don't always like the dramatics. Now, get to your point. You're wasted enough of my precious time as it is."

"Lucius Malfoy," Barty spoke quickly. "I can give you evidence against Lucius Malfoy."

"Were you there when he did these pieces of evidence?" Moody asked lazily.

"I'm offering you information on a highly ranked Death Eater," Barty said angrily. "I would think you would want that."

"Oh, I do," Moody replied, "but if you think I'm here to make a deal with you, you're wrong."

"Well, my father might want to hear what I have to say," Barty sneered. "He's hated Lucius Malfoy for years."

"I hope you're not expecting your father to come rescue you," Moody snarled, "but I will listen to what you have to say and I will pass it along to Crouch Sr. I don't want my visit here to be a complete waste of time. Well, boy, what are you waiting for? Start speaking."

Barty immediately began to tell Moody about the different dates and places where he had seen Lucius Malfoy torturing and killing Muggles.

 _Why does all this information have to be coming from a Death Eater?_ Moody thought angrily. _There's no way he can know all this without having been directly involved himself._

Moody feared that none of Barty's information, despite how detailed it was, would be of any use against Malfoy.

It would all depend on whether or not the Wizengamot would be willing to play nice with one Death Eater in order to send another one to Azkaban in his place.

True, the court had done it before, but Moody knew that Lucius Malfoy was a lot more popular and had a lot more connections in the Ministry than any of the Death Eaters that Karkaroff had betrayed.

Which was probably why Karkaroff had not considered mentioning Malfoy's name, the clever bastard.

It also would depend on whether or not the Wizengamot would be willing to show any sympathy towards Barty Crouch Jr.

Would his own father be willing to show any sympathy towards him? Who did Barty Crouch Sr. truly hate more, Lucius Malfoy or his own son?

If Moody had his way, both Malfoy and young Crouch would be spending the rest of their lives in Azkaban.

But Moody had learned long ago that it wasn't often that he fully got his way. Politics always seemed to get in his way.

And Lucius Malfoy was a master at politics.

Would Barty Crouch Jr. prove to be the same way?

 _Oh, how I hate politics,_ Moody though angrily.

"I will pass your information to the proper sources, but I will not be making you any promises," Moody growled after Barty had finished. "Aurors don't make deals with your kind."

Moody then turned to the dementor. "I'm ready to leave."


	22. Trial 1

Narcissa was surprised by the main headline on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_. Barty Crouch Sr. had decided to grant his son, along with the three Lestranges, a trial.

Narcissa read the article closely. To no surprise, there was much speculation on whether or not Crouch Sr. would have had a trial if his son had not been one of the Death Eaters.

Narcissa, however, could not see what this trial could possibly accomplish. Bella and the others had been caught at the scene of the crime, and none of them could claim Imperius (not that Bellatrix would ever think of doing that for even a moment) because the attack had occurred after the Dark Lord's mysterious disappearance.

Perhaps if Bella pretended to be remorseful, she would be shown some mercy.

Narcissa made a sound that would have been a snort if it had been coming from a less dignified person. There was no way that Bella could ever fake remorse. Even as a child, she had never known the meaning of being subtle. It sounded weird to say it, but Bella had always been way too honest for her own good.

The trial was going to be nothing but a complete disaster. Narcissa just couldn't imagine Crouch Sr. pardoning any of the four Death Eaters, even if one of them was his son. Crouch Sr. was too much into obeying all the rules to allow even his own son to get away with breaking some of the most serious rules in the Wizarding World.

The trial was going to be nothing but a complete disaster.

"But I'm going to be there for it," Narcissa muttered to herself. "I owe my sister at least that much."

A part of Narcissa felt guilty about the part that she had played in getting Bella captured, but she then quickly reminded herself that she had not forced Bella to attack the Longbottoms. Bella had made that decision on her own.

Besides, Barty had been planning on betraying Lucius, and there was no way that Narcissa could have allowed that to happen. Narcissa had tried to warn Bella about being with him, and she had refused to listen.

Perhaps Narcissa should have been more honest with Bella. Perhaps Narcissa should have told Bella about Barty's intentions.

But Narcissa had a feeling that not even that would have stopped Bella from going after the Longbottoms. The Dark Lord had always been the most important thing to her.

Narcissa also couldn't help but think that if Bella had known about Barty's intention to betray Lucius, Bella would have acted against Lucius in some way to keep him for doing something that could have possibly hurt her chances of finding the Dark Lord.

It had never been a secret to Narcissa that Lucius and Bella had only tolerated each other for her sake. When it came to the Dark Lord, however, family bonds did not seem to matter to Bella. Narcissa had no doubt, therefore, that her presence would not have been enough to keep Bella from going after Lucius if she had decided that he was a threat to her finding the Dark Lord.

Narcissa used her wand to summon a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a letter to her parents, asking if they could watch Draco for her during Bella's trial.

Narcissa didn't want her son being around the dementors for even a moment.

She could only hope that Lucius would never have to be around them either.

* * *

As Lucius read the article about the upcoming trial for the four Death Eaters that had tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity, he couldn't help but think about his wife. Narcissa and Bellatrix had never been emotionally close, but Lucius knew that Narcissa had still cared deeply about her sister.

A part of Lucius could not help but feel guilty for telling Narcissa about Barty's plan to betray him, which had led to Narcissa helping him to lead the Aurors straight to Barty.

 _But I gave Narcissa time to try to convince her sister to stay away from Barty,_ Lucius then thought. _It isn't either of our faults that Bellatrix chose not to listen._

Despite all that, though, Lucius had a feeling that Narcissa would go to Bellatrix's trial. He just hoped that one of her friends would go with her for support.

Lucius looked at the picture of Bellatrix that had been taken in Azkaban.

In the picture, Bellatrix looked deranged and pulled on her chains as if she was a wild animal.

 _Sorry, Bellatrix, but insanity isn't going to save you from Azkaban,_ Lucius thought. _Our justice system doesn't care about such things. The only way you'll end up in a hospital instead of in a prison is if you're brain dead._

Lucius's eyes then drifted to the picture of a smiling Frank and Alice Longbottom. The Healers had refused to allow any pictures to be taken of the two Longbottoms, even though the _Daily Prophet_ staff had tried their best to get into St. Mungo's.

The _Daily Prophet_ had never been known for its class.

Lucius looked again at the picture of the two smiling Longbottoms.

A part of Lucius could not help but think that Frank and Alice had gotten exactly what they had deserved for being Blood-Traitors.

Another part of Lucius, however, did not like to see any harm come to any of his kind, even if they were Blood-Traitors. There weren't many Purebloods left anymore, and the most important thing to Lucius had always been the preservation of blood purity in the Wizarding World.

 _At least they have a Pureblood son,_ Lucius thought. At least the Longbottom name, _a Pureblood name, will not die with them. Hopefully, their son will have enough sense to marry a Pureblood woman and have at least one child with her._

Lucius thought about all the miscarriages that Narcissa had suffered, beginning with their stillborn daughter Ara, before she had finally had Draco.

Lucius next thought about Narcissa's grief over the death of the Black name.

 _Let Neville Longbottom have at least one Pureblood child._

Lucius's eyes then drifted to the one of the few pictures of Crouch and Barty together. It had been taken when Barty had still been a small boy. Both he and his father looked very formal, but Lucius couldn't help but notice that Crouch did have his hand on his son's shoulder.

 _Perhaps Crouch does care about his son after all._

Lucius could not help but think about his father. He already knew that Abraxas would not stand by him when his trial came up. No, Abraxas would want to create as much distance between himself and "that disgraceful Death Eater who got caught." Nothing, not even his own son, could be allowed to damage his reputation.

The similarities between Abraxas Malfoy and Barty Crouch Sr. were uncanny.

 _Does that make me and Barty similar as well?_ Lucius couldn't help thinking. _I hate my father just as much as he hates his._

Lucius shook his head. He would never deny Barty's intelligence. At the same time, though, Lucius could not help but view Barty as nothing more than a little brat who had never been able to realize just how good of a life he had.

From what Lucius knew about Crouch Sr., he had been neglectful of his son but not abusive.

As a child, Lucius had often wished that his father would forget that he existed. Surely, being neglected by a parent couldn't be completely bad. Besides, it wasn't as if Barty had not had an affectionate, caring mother to make up for his absent father. Lucius, on the other hand, had not even been that fortunate.

Lucius put the paper down. He knew that the article was going to make a lot of people upset. The Longbottoms had been beloved by most of the Wizarding World, so they weren't going to like the idea of one of their torturers possibly escaping justice just because his father happened to be Barty Crouch Sr.

It was possible of course that even if Crouch did care about his son, that still wouldn't stop him from treating Barty like any other criminal.

Perhaps the trial's purpose was to show the Wizarding World that not even family bonds would prevent Crouch from doing his job.

 _In some cases, blood is not thicker than water._

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Moody asked Crouch Sr. angrily as he waved the _Daily Prophet_ in front of him. "Out of all the people you decide to give a trial to, it just had to be for these four. There are few people that belong in Azkaban more than these four do. Are you going to play around with justice just because one of them is your son?"

Crouch looked at Moody for a long moment before finally saying, "I have no son."

Moody could not help but notice, though, that Crouch's lower lip and jaw trembled ever so slightly as he spoke those harsh words.

"Why are you torturing yourself like this?" Moody asked in a gentler voice.

"I am simply doing what I must," Crouch spoke, his voice cold and bitter. "The public needs to see that no one is above the law."

Moody just shook his head sadly as Crouch walked past him.

* * *

The trial was exactly what Narcissa had expected it to be, a complete disaster.

Narcissa was not surprised by Bella's actions or words. Bella had never learned that there were times when it was wiser to keep your thoughts to yourself.

 _Is the Dark Lord really worth this, Bella?_ Narcissa thought. _Is he really worth years of your freedom and your life? What if you die in Azkaban before he returns? What then would you have accomplished? Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

Narcissa smiled her appreciation at her friends Flora Nott, Georgina Goyle, and Nicola Crabbe. The fact that their husbands were currently in Azkaban had not kept them from offering Narcissa comfort and support.

Barty's voice once again rang in Narcissa's ears.

Bella had not taken Narcissa by surprise, but Barty had. He had, after all, always presented himself as being so big and tough. At the moment, however, he was acting like nothing more than a scared, little boy.

Narcissa looked over at Crouch. He was doing a good job at hiding his emotions, but Narcissa could tell that he was struggling to keep himself composed.

Crouch's wife fainted in her seat.

 _Nothing but a complete disaster,_ Narcissa thought again.

Flora squeezed Narcissa's hand as the dementors led Bella past them.

Bella did not look in Narcissa's direction for even a moment.

Narcissa's thoughts turned to Lucius. His trial just had to end better. It just had to.

As harsh at it sounded to her, Narcissa could imagine life without Bella. She could not, however, imagine life without Lucius.

* * *

 **Author's Note : In my headcanon Lucius's mother died in childbirth.**

 **Additional Author's Note : More information on Ara and the other miscarriages that Narcissa suffered in my headcanon can be found in my Dead Babies series. The full list of stories is on my profile page.**


	23. Interlude

"How did the trial go?" Lucius asked the Healer as she placed his lunch tray on the small table beside his bed.

"It was a complete disaster," the Healer replied. "No one spoke up in any of the prisoner's defense, and the decision to declare them guilty came quickly and without any opposition. Everyone was cheering for Crouch as his son and the other three were lead out the room. It was so hard to watch. Barty was crying to his father that he had not done it. And while that was going on, Bellatrix Lestrange proclaimed her pride in going to Azkaban for her master and that he would reward her when he one day returned. She hasn't been in Azkaban for long, and she's already crazy. Not that I mean any offense, of course, Mr. Malfoy."

"None taken," Lucius responded. "I have never cared much for Bellatrix, and I have always found it hard to regard her as my wife's sister."

In a softer voice, Lucius inquired, "Was Narcissa there?"

"Yes, she was, but I wasn't able to talk to her," the Healer answered.

"Was she alone?"

"No. There were three women with her."

"Those three women were probably Flora Nott, Georgina Goyle, and Nicola Crabbe," Lucius remarked. "They are good friends of Narcissa's."

Lucius was not surprised that the three women had been there to support Narcissa, but the news still relieved him. He was glad to know that his wife wasn't completely alone.

"Oh, those poor women," the Healer cried. "Their husbands are in Azkaban. I remember you talking about them and how you believe that they were also victims of the Imperius Curse."

Lucius just nodded his head before he rubbed his eyes as if he was exhausted. For once, it wasn't really that much of an act. He was exhausted. He had not been drinking any of the Potions of Dreamless Sleep that the Healer had been giving him each night, and he had been forcing himself to stay awake in order to show just how severe his nightmares were.

Even though there was no mirror in the room, Lucius knew that his long hair was slightly disheveled and that his eyes were probably red.

He looked as if he had been in Azkaban instead of in St. Mungo's.

People were going to take one look at him and have no doubt in their minds that he was suffering from the aftereffects of memory modifications and the Imperius Curse.

Lucius was glad that he was used to operating on little sleep, as he couldn't risk making a mistake now. Despite all that he had done so far, a single wrong word could still ruin everything.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" the Healer asked in concern.

"Maybe a few minutes at the most," Lucius answered. "But you did say that it would take some time for me to recover from everything that had been done to my brain."

"Hopefully not too much time," the Healer muttered. She then forced a smile. "I'll leave you alone now so that you can eat and relax."

Lucius just nodded his head.

* * *

Narcissa was surprised and more than a little upset when Abraxas greeted her at the front door of Malfoy Manor.

"Please tell me that you did not just come from your sister's trial," Abraxas snarled.

Draco began to wiggle in Narcissa's arms. She gently placed him on the floor, where he immediately began to crawl.

Narcissa then directed her attention back to her father-in-law. "Yes, I did go to Bella's trial, but I don't see why that should matter to you."

"It matters to me because it reflects poorly on Lucius," Abraxas hissed. "You are his wife, you idiotic woman. How do you think the public is going to view him now that his wife had shown her open support for a convicted Death Eater?"

"I did not show that I supported Bella by being at her trial," Narcissa snapped. "Instead, I showed that I was another victim of hers because my presence reminded everyone that her actions had destroyed more than just one family. I also bowed my head as if in grief for those two poor people that she had hurt. I did not cheer for her when she proclaimed her eternal devotion to the Dark Lord."

"Of course she would do something as stupid as that," Abraxas growled. "She has never had the subtlety or the cunningness that a true Slytherin and Pureblood ought to have. I should have never allowed Lucius to marry you. You are only a Malfoy by marriage. You are, however, a _Black_ by blood; and your family has had more than its share of disgraces lately. First, that other sister of yours married a Mudblood. Then, that wimp Regulus was killed because-"

"I will not stand here and listen to you insult my family," Narcissa snapped.

The mention of Regulus's name had been like a slap to her face. Abraxas knew that she had thought of Regulus as a little brother instead of just a cousin.

"Well, it's not my fault that your family is full of nothing but mistakes," Abraxas drawled. "I will not, however, allow your disgraced family name to taint the honourable, respectable Malfoy name."

"There are more than just a few that would not consider _you_ either honourable or respectable," Narcissa retorted. "Besides, I don't see you doing anything to support Lucius. In fact, you've done nothing but distanced yourself from him. How do you think that's going to reflect on him?"

"Lucius is the head of this household, which means that it's perfectly acceptable for my public appearances to be limited." Abraxas responded. "You, on the other hand, are Lucius's wife and his representative in his absence since Draco is too young to act as the Malfoy patriarch."

"I have done nothing to hurt Lucius," Narcissa responded wearily. She then picked up Draco, who had been trying unsuccessfully to get his grandfather's attention. "Come, Draco. Let's go eat some lunch."

Draco's tiny face immediately brightened.

Narcissa completely ignored Abraxas as she walked right past him.

Just like Bella had completely ignored her in the courtroom.

* * *

"Enter," Crouch called out when he heard the knock on his office door.

Crouch sat up straight in his chair and forced a cold, emotionless expression onto his face.

The door opened and Moody walked into the room.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring that up during their trial," Moody remarked, gesturing towards the paper. "It's direct evidence against Malfoy."

"It's a Death Eater accusing another Death Eater," Crouch returned. "I'm surprised by you, Moody. Are you telling me that I should have made a deal with _him_? You're still upset with me for bargaining with Karkaroff."

"Are you going that use that statement at all?" Moody asked. "I would hate to think that I went to Azkaban for nothing."

"I will not be making any more deals with any more Death Eaters," Crouch snapped.

He then slammed the paper on his desk. "Malfoy knew, didn't he? Malfoy knew that they were planning on going after the Longbottoms. Malfoy was the one who started the rumors about _him_."

It was hard for Moody to determine who Crouch hated more, his son or Lucius Malfoy.

It was hard for Moody to determine who he hated more.

"If you want Malfoy to go to Azkaban, you will have to use that statement I took," Moody spoke. "It's all we have against that clever bastard."

Crouch sighed wearily.

"If that statement is used, someone from the Wizengamot will ask you where it came from," Moody continued. "I know that there is at least a few of them that are on friendly terms with Malfoy. I hate to say this, but you may have to make Malfoy look worse than a certain other prisoner if you want that filth to be convicted."

"I will not make any deals with my son," Crouch said in soft, barely audible voice.

"Even if that means Malfoy escaping justice?"

Crouch was silent for a moment. Then, he said, "I know you don't want any Death Eater escaping justice any more than I do, and I intend to make sure that happens."

Moody didn't know how Crouch expected to get Lucius Malfoy convicted while at the same time keeping his son in Azkaban, but the Auror knew that there was no way that he could possibly reason with Crouch in his current state of mind.

Without another word, Moody turned and left the room.

Moody didn't like the idea of either Lucius Malfoy or Barty Crouch Jr. escaping justice, but at the moment it appeared as if one of them would be doing exactly that.

And at the moment, Moody was placing his bet on Lucius Malfoy. The only evidence against him, after all, was from another Death Eater; and that Death Eater just happened to be Barty Crouch Sr.'s son. A witness could not get any more tainted than that.


	24. Trial 2

"Are you going to go like that?" Moody growled at Lucius.

The Healer had already asked the same thing, and Lucius had told her that he didn't want to fix his hair or change his clothes.

 _Hospital clothes definitely aren't much better to prison clothes,_ Lucius once again couldn't help thinking.

Despite that, though, Lucius didn't want to go to court looking his best. He wanted everyone to see that he had not been sleeping or taking care of himself. He wanted everyone to see just how much the Imperius Curse had broken him.

"Yes, I want to go like this," Lucius told Moody, holding out his hands for the Auror to magically bind.

* * *

"You have to eat something, Cissa," Nicola tried to encourage her friend.

"I can't," Narcissa replied.

"It will make Lucius feel better to know that you've been taking care of yourself," Georgina spoke.

"If I eat something, I'm afraid I will just throw it back up," Narcissa responded.

Flora, Georgina, and Nicola all looked at her sympathetically.

Narcissa took several deep breaths to calm herself. Then, she stood up and smoothed invisible winkles out of her dress.

"I'm ready to go," she said. "I want to make sure to get a good seat so that Lucius will be able to clearly see me."

* * *

Lucius felt the coldness of the dementors before he saw them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius asked Moody.

"Scared, Malfoy?" Moody asked mockingly.

"Was this your idea or Crouch's?" Lucius asked in response. "Is this your way of throwing a temper tantrum just because you don't have a case against me? I just hope you're not going to allow them into the courtroom. My wife is probably going to be there."

"Come along, Malfoy," Moody growled as he grabbed Lucius's arm and dragged him closer to the dementors.

Lucius emptied his mind as best as he could as the dementors closed in around him.

He couldn't, however, force out all the memories.

Lucius closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself.

Then, the doors opened.

* * *

The courtroom went cold the same time that the doors opened.

 _How dare they bring dementors here,_ Narcissa thought angrily.

At the same time, though, Narcissa wanted to sob for her husband. She knew that Lucius had many painful memories, more than most people would ever realize or know.

Narcissa could also feel the horror of her three friends. Flora in particular seemed as if she was about ready to faint.

Georgina and Nicola were quickly there to support their friend.

As soon as Narcissa saw that Flora was okay, she directed her attention back to her husband.

Lucius looked horrible. His hair, which usually never had a single strand out of place, now looked unkempt. His eyes, which usually were bright, were now dull and red.

If Narcissa had not known better, she would have thought that her husband had just came from Azkaban instead of from St. Mungo's.

Even though Narcissa knew that was probably the impression that Lucius wanted to give in order to help his case, it still pained her to see him looking so exhausted and lifeless.

Lucius caught sight of Narcissa and offered her a weak smile. He also nodded his head at Flora, Georgina, and Nicola.

Lucius then caught sight of Giles, Eva, and others from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that saw him as being a friend.

They all offered him smiles of encouragement.

Lucius nodded his head politely back at them.

Lucius then met Fudge's eyes, and the two men exchanged nods as well.

Fudge's face was pale as he looked at Lucius with concern.

The dementors led Lucius to a chair with chains on its arms before turning and leaving the room.

Narcissa wanted to scream her outrage when the chains glowed gold and wrapped themselves around Lucius's arms.

Lucius, instinctively giving in to his Pureblood breeding, sat up as straight as the chains would allow.

Crouch stood up and looked at Lucius with undisguised hatred.

"Lucius Malfoy," Crouch spoke in a cold voice, "you have been charged with being a Death Eater. Do you have anything to say to this charge?"

"I do not deny that I did horrible things at the orders of You-Know-Who," Lucius spoke in a somewhat shaky voice.

There were gasps from almost everyone in the courtroom.

"However," Lucius continued, "when I did all those things, I was under the influence of the Imperius Curse."

"Why didn't you say anything about this the moment that You-Know-Who disappeared?" Crouch pressed.

"Because of the gaps in my memory," Lucius answered smoothly. "At first, I didn't remember carrying out any orders from You-Know-Who. The Healer who treated me at St. Mungo's can testify to the fact that my memory has been modified."

"So, when did you start remembering?" Crouch sneered.

"When I was at St. Mungo's being treated for a curse that you had hit me with," Lucius said.

There were more gasps in the courtroom.

"I told you that wasn't just another rumor," a woman muttered.

"That doesn't surprise me at all," a man remarked.

"Do you remember everything now?" Crouch snarled, clearly struggling to keep his anger under control.

"There are still many gaps in my memory," Lucius responded, "but I can now remember seeing You-Know-Who's face and hearing him speak to me."

"Do you remember anything that he said to you?"

"No, his words are still fuzzy," Lucius replied, "but in my dreams, I hear lots of screaming."

Lucius shook his head. "It's been so hard for me to sleep lately. Every time I close my eyes, I see houses on fire and people running for their lives. It's all so horrible."

"I'm sure it is," Crouch sneered.

Lucius slumped slightly in his chair, and he bowed his head as if he was about to nod off.

"Are you trying to go asleep on me?" Crouch roared angrily.

"Please, forgive me," Lucius spoke in a weak voice. "I meant no disrespect. I'm just a little tired."

"Well, you can get all the rest that you want in Azkaban," Crouch responded.

At those words, several people in the courtroom (including Fudge, Giles, and Eva) stood up in protest.

"Surely there is no way that you can possibly be considering sending Lucius to Azkaban," Giles spoke angrily. "Can't you see how horrified he is by all this?"

"The Lucius Malfoy that I know would never willingly hurt anyone," Eva remarked. "The Lucius Malfoy that I know is always kind and considerate."

"Yes, he's always donating money to noble causes," Fudge added. "He has given generous amounts to St. Mungo's in particular, and I know that money has helped to treat many patients, including many Muggle-borns."

Several other Ministry officials then stood up and spoke similar words.

"Lucius helped me out during a tough time," one man said, "and he never once demanded anything in return."

Narcissa then stood up. "Please, let me speak. My name is Narcissa Malfoy. Lucius is my husband. If there's anyone who truly knows him, it's me."

"And what do you have to say about him, Mrs. Malfoy?" Crouch snarled.

"He wasn't himself during the war," Narcissa responded. "I've known Lucius since we were both children, and he was always affectionate towards me. He always cared about what was going on in my life. However, that all changed during the war. He started to become distant from me, and he was often gone at night."

"And none of that made you suspicious?" Crouch sneered.

"No," Narcissa gasped. "I just assumed that he had left to go for a walk. He likes to do that sometimes. It's perfectly normal behavior for him. Lucius has always been a free spirit."

"So, you never thought, not even for a moment, that he could possibly be a Death Eater?" Crouch pressed.

"No," Narcissa cried. "My husband is a good man. He's always doing something to help out those in need. And whenever he saw the latest headline in the _Daily Prophet_ , he was just as distressed and horrified as I was. And I never once saw him acting violent in any way. Lucius just wanted time for himself, and that also is normal behavior for him. Some people are that way. I also appreciate having time to myself."

Narcissa then looked around the courtroom, and she saw that most everyone were giving her looks of sympathy and support.

From where he was sitting, Moody just shook his head. There was no way that Barty's statement could ever stand up to any of this. There were just too many people whom supported Lucius and thought that he was absolutely wonderful.

"Is that all you have to say, Mrs. Malfoy?" Crouch growled.

"Yes, it is," Narcissa said politely. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak."

"And now it is my turn to speak again," Crouch declared. "I will not deny that Lucius Malfoy gives the appearance of being a respectable citizen, but I also will not deny that it is all a lie. I have a statement that says that Lucius Malfoy was not once acting against his will. In fact, he was enjoying himself as he placed helpless Muggles under the Cruciatus Curse."

Moody just continued to shake his head.

"And who did this statement come from, and why have none of us been informed of it until now?" Giles asked.

"Did it come from someone else who has been accused of being a Death Eater?" Eva pressed. "Lucius Malfoy is a well-known member of our world. His name easily grabs our attention. If I wanted to avoid going to Azkaban, I would offer his name as well."

"Who is the source of this statement?" Giles asked again.

Crouch just shook his head, finally giving in to the reality that he had lost this battle. He suddenly looked very old.

"Let us vote now," he said in a soft, barely audible voice. "Those in the jury whom believe that Lucius Malfoy deserves to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban, raise your hand."

No one raised their hand.

"Very well," Crouch said wearily. "You are free to go, Mr. Malfoy."

The room was immediately filled with the sounds of applause and cheers.

The chains that had been binding Lucius to the chair loosened.

Narcissa began to make her way towards Lucius, closely followed by her three friends.

Lucius stood up to greet Narcissa. He exchanged smiles with Flora, Georgina, and Nicola before directing his full attention back to his wife.

The two Malfoys did not embrace each other (they had never felt any need to show such open displays of false affection in public), but they did grab each other's hands.

"Lucius," Narcissa breathed. "Oh, Lucius."

"Narcissa," Lucius smiled.


	25. Homecomings

Lucius thanked Flora, Georgina, and Nicola for supporting Narcissa during his arrest and trial before promising them that he would do whatever it took to get their husbands out of Azkaban and back home with them as well.

Lucius and Narcissa were then surrounded by several Ministry officials, including Fudge, Giles, and Eva, whom personally wanted to tell Lucius how relieved they were that he was now free.

"I thank you all for your support and kind words, but this is not the end," Lucius spoke. "My wife has friends whose husbands are in Azkaban, even though there is no evidence that they ever willingly served You-Know-Who."

"Lucius, you've just become a free man," Eva responded. "You and Narcissa should be celebrating."

It was clear, though, that Eva was touched by Lucius's concern for the men whom were still imprisoned.

"We are looking at the files of everyone who were arrested on the charge of being a Death Eater," Giles said. "We will see to it that there are trials for them as quickly as possible and that all innocent people are released from Azkaban."

"Please, do this as quickly as possible," Narcissa spoke up. "My friends have not been able to sleep since their husbands were arrested. It's just so horrible to think about what those poor men are suffering in Azkaban. The short time that the dementors were in the courtroom today was horrible enough. Just imagine what it's like to be around those dementors all of the time."

Giles glanced over at Crouch, who was clearly trying to leave the courtroom as quickly as possible.

"Assure your friends that it won't be long before their husbands are back home," Giles then said to Narcissa. "After all the defeats that Crouch has suffered lately, I don't think he has much more fight left in him."

Narcissa smiled her appreciation for Giles's words before she and Lucius politely excused themselves. Lucius needed his rest, after all.

* * *

Cygnus and Druella quickly rose from their chairs to greet Lucius when he and Narcissa were escorted into Black Manor by a house-elf to pick up Draco.

"Oh, Lucius, what did they do to you?" Druella cried as she took in Lucius's unkempt appearance. "Cygnus, we must do something. This is unacceptable treatment of a proper Pureblood like Lucius."

Narcissa gritted her teeth.

"I thank you for your concern for me and for your zeal for justice, Mrs. Black," Lucius spoke, "but right now I would like nothing more than to put all this behind me. I will be just fine after a few days of rest and good food."

"We can have some food brought to you if you're hungry," Druella offered, acting completely like the proper hostess.

Narcissa gritted her teeth some more.

"Thank you for your generous offer, but I do not wish to trouble you or your husband further today," Lucius responded. "It is enough that you watched Draco for us. How was he?"

"Oh, he was a good boy," Druella assured Lucius. "He's taking a nap right now. I'll get a house-elf to bring him down here."

"No, if it's all right with you, I would like to go get him myself," Lucius returned.

"Of course," Druella smiled.

Narcissa continued to grit her teeth.

* * *

"Draco," Lucius spoke in a soft voice as soon as he opened the door to the Black family nursery.

Draco's eyes immediately popped open at the sound of his father's voice.

"Dada," Draco cried happily as he sat up in the crib and stretched out his arms towards his father.

Lucius wrapped his arms around his son and lifted him out of the crib.

"Dada," Draco repeated.

"It's good to see you as well, Draco," Lucius spoke.

He then turned to Cygnus and Druella. "Thank you again for watching Draco for us."

"It was no problem at all, Lucius," Druella smiled.

Cygnus echoed his wife's words.

Narcissa continued to grit her teeth, and her goodbye to her parents was quick and to the point, even though her eyes and her tone of voice were softer for her father than they were for her mother.

* * *

"You're angry at your mother about something," Lucius said in a matter-of-fact voice as he (still carrying Draco) and Narcissa began to walk away from Black Manor.

"I wanted to hex her so badly," Narcissa hissed. "When I came here after receiving the news of Bella's arrest to give support to her and my father, all she could talk about was how disgraceful her family was. Bella's a disgrace for getting caught supporting the Dark Lord, who apparently is no longer worthy of such support in my mother's eyes. She even mentioned Dromeda indirectly. Then, Mother told me that I was soon going to be another source of disgrace for her because of the fact that my husband was on his way to Azkaban. But now, she's acting as if she never spoke a bad word about you."

"That is the world we live in, Narcissa," Lucius said softly.

"I know," Narcissa sighed, "but she's my mother."

"I know exactly how you feel," Lucius muttered, thinking of his father.

After a brief moment of silence, Lucius said, "I'm sorry about your sister. I know that you had wanted a different outcome for her."

"You allowed me time to attempt to reason with Bella," Narcissa responded. "It's not your fault that she didn't listen to me. I'm just glad that I still have you and Draco."

* * *

Abraxas was there at the front door of Malfoy Manor to greet Lucius and Narcissa.

"So, you didn't disgrace the family name after all," Abraxas drawled at his son.

Abraxas's eyes then took in the hospital clothes that his son was still wearing, along with his unkempt hair.

Abraxas curled his lips in disgust but didn't comment.

"No, Father, I didn't," Lucius replied, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"But no thanks to you," Narcissa added, the anger in her voice clear.

Abraxas glared angrily at his daughter-in-law.

"If I had wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it," Abraxas hissed. "You would do well to remember that, woman."

"And you would do well to remember that I know how to get away with murder," Lucius warned.

Abraxas now glared angrily at his son.

Narcissa braced herself for yet another duel between the two Malfoys.

 _Home sweet home,_ she thought sarcastically.

To Narcissa's relief, however, Abraxas turned and left the room without another word.

"It's so good to be back home," Lucius drawled, the sarcasm in his voice clear.

Narcissa couldn't help it. She started to laugh.

It didn't take long for Lucius to start laughing as well.

Draco didn't know why his parents were laughing, but he decided that he didn't want to be left out, especially after Dada had been gone for so long.

Draco began to giggle, his happiness clear.

* * *

Lucius stayed at home for the rest of the day to keep up the appearance that he was exhausted.

"That isn't exactly a lie, Lucius," Narcissa said as she took another look at just how red her husband's eyes were. "You need to get some rest."

Lucius sighed, but he allowed his wife to lead him to their bedroom.

* * *

By the next morning, however, Lucius was already restless and ready to get out of bed.

"I spent enough time in bed at St. Mungo's," Lucius said as he worked on making himself look more presentable for public. "I'm ready to be on my feet again."

 _A free spirit indeed,_ Narcissa thought with a combination of annoyance and affection.

"Will you be going to the Ministry?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes," Lucius answered. "Flora, Georgina, and Nicola are intelligent women, but their husbands do not share their brains. They are going to need all the help that they can get."

"I want to be there at all of their trials," Narcissa spoke. "I need to support Flora, Georgina, and Nicola like they supported me."

Lucius nodded his head. He then gave Narcissa a quick kiss on her lips before he turned to leave.

* * *

It quickly became clear that Giles had been speaking the truth when he had said that Crouch did not have much fight left in him. It did not take long for trials to be held for most of the Purebloods that had been arrested and sent to Azkaban, which included Flora's, Georgina's, and Nicola's husbands.

Narcissa was there to sit beside her friends at each of their husband's trials. Lucius was there to speak on each of their husband's behalves.

Crouch glared angrily at Lucius each time the blond-haired wizard approached him, but his exhaustion always seemed to overcome his anger and he quickly gave up on questioning Lucius. Afterwards, it didn't take the jury long to vote that the prisoner should be released.

"Thank you, thank you," Flora, Georgina, and Nicola told Lucius and Narcissa.

"It was no problem at all," Lucius told them. "You helped us out when we needed it. We're just glad that everything turned out as well as it did."

Narcissa smiled as she embraced each of her friends, and they were quick to smile back at her.

Mr. Nott, Goyle, and Crabbe also gave Lucius and Narcissa their thanks for everything that they had done.

Lucius just nodded his head at them, and Narcissa gave them a slight smile.

* * *

"Let's go celebrate," Narcissa told Lucius as soon as they were once again alone in the hallway right outside the courtroom.

"How would you like to celebrate?" Lucius asked with a smirk.

"Do you really need an answer to that question?" Narcissa smirked back.

* * *

 **Author's Note** **: There's just one more chapter to go. As for this chapter, I'm sorry that parts of it were rushed, but I didn't want to risk having things starting to drag too much. As for the end of this chapter, I'll just say that the action quickly became M rated and leave it at that since I want to keep a T rating for this story, LOL.**


	26. Epilogue

**Author's Note** **: This is the final chapter of this story. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and/or favorited, especially SmileSimplify (whose reviews often inspired me to take this story in certain directions) and 2sidedstoryteller29995 (whose constant reviews inspire me to keep on writing different stories about the Malfoys). This is the longest story I've ever written, and your reviews encouraged me to keep on writing.**

* * *

Narcissa's eyes suddenly popped open.

She was quickly able to tell from the darkness of the room that it was still night.

Narcissa looked beside her. To her surprise, Lucius was not there.

She immediately began to look around the room. It did not take her long to spot her husband sitting beside the window.

"Lucius," Narcissa spoke.

Lucius turned his head at the sound of his wife's voice.

"Narcissa," he said simply.

Narcissa then noticed that Lucius's left sleeve was rolled up, exposing his faded Dark Mark.

Narcissa knew from personal experience that even if she had been sitting right next to her husband, his Dark Mark would have still been barely visible. It was almost as if it had never been there.

Now that the threat of Azkaban was no longer over Lucius's head, he had finally had the time to think about his master.

"You didn't make a mistake by not looking for him," Narcissa said.

This was not the first time they have had this conversation.

"He will return one day, and he will be angry at me for abandoning him," Lucius responded. "I'm worried that he will hurt you and Draco to get back at me."

"You were in his Inner Circle, and you provided him with valuable service," Narcissa returned. "If he wants to achieve victory, he will need people like you, and he knows that."

Narcissa did not touch on Lucius's concern for her and Draco. They had already had that conversation more than once.

"I should have done more," Lucius spoke, once again referring to searching for the Dark Lord.

"If you had done so, you might have ended up in Azkaban along with Bella," Narcissa responded, "and I would not have been able to bear that."

Lucius didn't say anything in response. He just turned his head to once again look out the window, looking down at his faded Dark Mark as he did so.

"Come back to bed, Lucius," Narcissa said gently. "I've missed having you beside me."

For several moments, Lucius did not move from his spot by the window. But then, he stood up and walked over to the bed as he slowly rolled his sleeve back down.

Narcissa grabbed for Lucius's hand.

She knew that it was going to take some time before she truly had her husband back. He had known the Dark Lord since he was a child. He couldn't be expected to get over the Dark Lord's disappearance overnight. It was only natural that his thoughts would be conflicted.

But Narcissa was determined not to lose her husband to the darkness ever again.

 _But what will happen when the Dark Lord does return,_ a voice spoke inside her head.

Narcissa tried to push that thought away. She didn't want to think about anything happening to Lucius. Yes, she still supported the Dark Lord's beliefs, but both her husband and her son were the most important things to her.

And Narcissa was determined to lose neither Lucius nor Draco to the Dark Lord's cause.

* * *

It had been about a year since Crouch had sentenced his own son to Azkaban for the rest of life, and in that year everything had changed. Crouch now spent more time at home than he did at work, especially after he had been demoted to the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He had tried to bring passion to his new position, but he had quickly been forced to admit to himself that he would never again have the same fire burning inside him that he once had.

"I'm dying," Mrs. Crouch said suddenly when they were eating dinner one night.

Crouch looked at his wife in shock for several moments. He knew that she was still upset over their son's imprisonment, but surely she couldn't possibly be dying because of that. Yes, she was pale and thin, but she had always been pale and thin. Yes, she was sad, but surely she wasn't sick.

"Come, I'll take you to St. Mungo's," Crouch finally said as he stood up and offered his wife his hand.

Mrs. Crouch did not take her husband's hand.

"I don't want to go to St. Mungo's," she said, her voice unusually firm.

"But if you're not feeling well-" Crouch began to say.

"The Healers cannot mend my heart," Mrs. Crouch interrupted.

Crouch looked at his wife for several moments before saying, "What do you want me to do for you then?"

"I want to visit our son in Azkaban," Mrs. Crouch answered.

"No," Crouch breathed. "I don't want you around those dementors ever again, especially if you aren't feeling well as it is."

He left unsaid that he feared such a visit would kill her.

"Please, do this as one last favor to me," Mrs. Crouch cried. "I don't have much life left, but our son does."

"No," Crouch snapped. "I won't do what you're suggesting. Our son made the decision to join the Death Eaters and to torture the Longbottoms. He must now live with the consequences of his actions."

"Please, he's just a boy," Mrs. Crouch pleaded. "And he's a good boy at heart. I know he is. Please, give him a chance to live the life that he deserves. Please, let me die for something."

Crouch tried to shake his head. What his wife wanted was wrong. What his wife wanted went against everything that he believed in.

But he did care about his wife.

And a part of him did still care about their son.

"Please," Mrs. Crouch begged.

Crouch looked at his wife for a long moment before finally saying, "All right. I'll do it. For you, I'll do it."


End file.
